Guardians of Aura Part II
by KatanaNinja
Summary: Ash is now a Guardian of Aura. The time has come to train his son to be one and carry one the legacy. But as an ancient prophecy comes to be, the world is in danger of being destroyed by a power so great even the Guardians may not be able to stop it
1. The Start of a Beautiful Friendship

**Welcome one and all to part two of the Guardians of Aura series. I promise to make this one even better than the last. Like with the first story this one is rated T for violence, language, and suggestive themes. After taking such a long break I hope I have come up with a way to make the fanfiction readers happy. Please enjoy reading and remember that reviews are welcome. **

**Prologue: **_They are evil, the humans. We spirits gave them the gifts of intelligence and sentience hoping they would use it for innovation and good. But they are so easily led astray. Unlike the Pokémon they view themselves as so superior to, they are easily corruptible. The powers that were intended to improve the world are now being used to destroy it. Instead of life and creation, the humans use their intelligence for their own pursuits of greed and warfare. They pollute and kill the environments we worked so hard to create. With them as the dominant species our world is dying. They must be removed. They must be destroyed. _

"Daddy!" a young boy's voice cried.

An adult Ash Ketchum sat in his study as he heard the familiar sound of his oldest son's cry. His Pikachu lay at his feet, jostled awake by the shout.

"Oak's kid beat him up again" Ash sighed dryly to Pikachu. The yellow mouse shrugged.

"When's Gary going to teach his son to behave?" Ash asked rhetorically.

The question was not intended to be answered, but he received an answer, from none other than the Pokémon at his feet.

"_When are you going to teach your son how to fight_?" Pikachu replied, half-sarcastically. It was true that despite being a Pokémon, Pikachu possessed the ability of speech through telepathy. It was a trait that all Pokémon who were Guardians of Aura had in common, dating back to Sir Aaron's Lucario.

"Misty would kill me if I ever did that" Ash responded.

Before Pikachu could say anything else, a child of eight years entered the room sobbing. His mouth was bleeding.

"What's wrong Sato?" Ash asked his son sympathetically.

Satoshi, or Sato as was his nickname struggled to control his breathing as he wept, "I…I was playing on the swings and Gar…Gary showed up and told me to get off…he wanted to use the swings…but I wasn't done…so I said no…and…and…he PUSHED ME!"

By 'Gary' he was of course referring to the child himself not his father who had named his son after himself. Sato was of course named after Ash's father Satoshi.

"It's all right son" Ash said as he knelt down and held Sato in his arms.

"Gary's a big stupid-head!" the youth yelled. If his mother Misty was there she may have said something about not calling other kids names but Ash couldn't help but agree with him.

"Go ask your mother to clean you up. I'll go have a talk with Mr. Oak" Ash said. Sato nodded meekly.

Some minutes later Ash knocked on the door of the Oak Pokémon Laboratory. Gary had inherited the lab when his grandfather Samuel had passed away.

As the door swung open, Tracey Sketchit, who had stayed on as an assistant professor stood in the entrance.

"Hello Ash" he greeted simply.

"Hey Tracey" Ash replied awkwardly. "Is Gary here?"

"Oh, you son's are fighting again huh?" Tracey asked. He was being generous. Sato's responses to Gary Junior's bullying behavior could hardly be described as fighting back.

"Could you just go get him?"

"Yeah wait here."

Pikachu had gone with Ash. "_What do you think this will accomplish? You talk to Gary every time his son messes with Sato. It's not going to help._"

"It's worth a short. It's not like I can break Gary's nose because his son's acting up" Ash said. Ash's claim that he could break Gary's nose was not overconfident. Being a Guardian of Aura he held far greater fighting prowess than any non-Guardian.

"_You could always try breaking his kid's nose_" Pikachu joked.

"Hey Ash" Gary said as he appeared in the door. "What brings you here?" He had spiky brown hair and wore a lab coat.

"Hi Gary" Ash said. "You know I hate doing this but it seems your kid and my kid got into another little scrape."

"Again?"

"Yeah you know we've talked about this before and we thought they could try to get along but I really don't think they want to be friends…so maybe you could tell your son to leave Sato alone."

"Come on Ash their just kids. Junior's just a little rambunctious is all" Gary said, shrugging off the idea.

"Gary, he made Sato bleed" Ash said, a little irritated by Gary's nonchalant attitude.

"Come on, you know what being a kid is like. He just got carried away in his games."

"Games?!" Ash yelled. "He started a fight with Sato and hurt him! You aren't going to do anything about that?!"

"No" Gary replied. "I don't think he did anything wrong. He was just playing. Maybe if your kid wasn't such a wuss…"

"A wuss?!"

"Yeah a wuss, every time the tinniest little thing happens he runs crying home to you and you come banging on my door, interrupting my day…"

"Keep your freaking kid away from mine!"

"No! You know what? You're just lucky you and I never got into a 'little scrape'!"

"Is that a threat?!" Ash shouted, grabbing Gary's color.

"_Ash!_" Pikachu whispered telepathically. "_Calm down. You came here to talk to him, not get arrested for assault._"

Ash let go. "I think you'd better leave" Gary said.

"I was just thinking the same thing" Ash said as he turned around and heard the door slamming.

"_Well that was pointless_" Pikachu said. "_Now what?_"

"I'm thinking you may have been right" Ash replied. "It's time to teach Sato to protect himself from jackasses like him!"

"_Misty's not going to be happy about any of this._"

The next day Sato sat on a bench in the park reading from his favorite book. Unlike most kids he was a very avid reader and loved nothing more than losing himself in the pages of a nice book, one of the many things Gary teased him about. As he read around the mud stains left from the last time Gary had smacked the books from his hands he heard a strange sound.

He looked over and saw Gary Junior and two of his equally unpleasant friends standing over a frightened Growlithe, holding sticks and rocks. An instinct not unlike his father's nature took over Sato as he saw the helpless, scared Pokémon being harassed.

As he chucked a stone at the innocent dog, Gary Junior said, "Take that you stupid mutt!"

"Leave him alone Gary!" Sato yelled as he walked over. Sato may not have been the best fighter, but neither was he a coward.

"What are you going to do about it nerd?!" Gary jeered.

"Stop calling me names!" Sato yelled.

"Or what?"

"Teach him a lesson Gary" one of his cronies said eagerly.

"Yeah kick his butt!" the other said.

The night before, Ash had taken Sato to the backyard of their house. "This is what you do if someone tries to push you" he said as he showed him some weird movements. He made Sato practice these movements over and over again until he had them memorized.

As Gary leaned in to push Sato down, Sato grabbed his arms and threw him to the ground.

Gary began crying and ran off. His friends looked to each other and hastily followed.

The Growlithe Sato had protected looked to him nervously.

"It's all right, I won't hurt you" Sato assured. The dog-like Pokémon whimpered gratefully.

"Sato, it's time to go home!" the voice of Misty, his mother called.

"I guess I'll see you later" Sato bade to the Growlithe.

Ash arrived home from work at around six that evening. He was greeted by the pleasant sound of his loving wife's voice.

"Ash!" she yelled madly.

"_What did you do this time?_" Pikachu asked as he rested on the carpet. "_Did you forget to put the seat down again?_"

"No" Ash said. "Well yeah, but I don't think that's what she's mad about."

Misty walked into the room, her hands on her hips and her expression stern.

"Um hi Sweetheart" Ash said nervously. "How was your day?"

"Would you mind explaining why I just got a call from Mrs. Oak about Sato beating up Gary Junior?" Misty asked.

Ash smiled proudly. "He beat up Gary? Wow I didn't think he got that good yet! My boy's a fast learner and a fighter, just like his old man" he boasted.

"Ash, we are not encouraging our children to be violent!" Misty insisted.

"Misty, I've talked to Gary a million times about his son. He doesn't do anything about it. If Sato can't protect himself people like that are going to walk all over him."

"Oh so I guess I'd better get little Ken from the backyard (Ken was their five-year-old son) and wake up little Kasumi from her nap (Kasumi was there 2-year-old daughter) so you can teach them to beat up other kids so they don't get walked all over."

"Misty" Ash said confidently. "Let's be realistic here. I have to teach Sato how to fight if he's ever going to become a Guardian of Aura."

"You…" Misty stuttered. "….you want Sato to be a Guardian?"

"Well…yeah…I mean what did you expect? I thought you would be happy about that. I thought you were proud of me for being one."

"Ash, I'm very proud that you're a Guardian of Aura. I mean if you weren't you wouldn't have been able to save the world when we were kids. But I just always thought we were going to give the kids a normal life."

"Misty" Ash said seriously. "Pikachu and I are the only Guardians left. If we don't carry on the legacy then who will?"

"_Well technically we aren't the only ones left_" Pikachu interjected. "_There are a few dozen evil ones locked in a secret American prison somewhere._"

"That makes my point more valid" Ash responded. "Misty maybe Sato is a little young right now to begin his training, but my grandfather taught me everything he knew just so that there could be some small hope that one day the Guardians of Aura could finally return. I don't want to let him down."

"All right Ash" Misty conceded. "I guess I can understand that. Just make sure that you don't turn Sato into some sort of bully."

"Don't worry I won't. I'll turn him into the best Guardian of Aura who ever lived."

Meanwhile Sato was in the front yard, watching the sunset, as he often did. He gazed upon golden-orange sun as it drifted behind the clouds and finally faded away. As the sky became dark he stood up and turned around to head into his house. But as he turned on the outside lights and opened the door, he heard a familiar moaning sound.

Sato twirled his head around and saw the Growlithe he had saved from Gary and his friends stood in front of him, its head low and its voice still full of fear.

"You followed me home?" Sato asked confused. The Growlithe walked forward slowly, one-step-at-a-time and continued whimpering.

"You don't have anywhere else to go do you?" Sato realized. "You're all alone."

The lonely, terrified puppy continued whining and nodded its head.

"Do you want to be friends?" Sato asked. In response, Growlithe took a few steps closer.

"We can be best friends" Sato said as he walked forward and he and Growlithe were no more than an inch away from each other. Growlithe began wagging his tail slowly.

"I guess now, we'll always be best friends."

"What's going on here son?" the voice of Ash asked. Sato saw his parents standing directly behind him.

"Gary was picking on this Growlithe and I stopped him" Sato explained.

"Using what I taught him to protect a Pokémon; that doesn't sound like a bully to me Misty" Ash teased.

"Bully?" Sato repeated.

"It's nothing son" Misty said.

"This Growlithe is all alone; he doesn't have anyone but me. Can we keep him?" Sato asked.

"I'm not sure Sato" Misty said.

"Come on Misty, he's old enough for his first Pokémon" Ash protested calmly.

"Well, maybe you're right."

"Yay!" Sato beamed. "Come on Growlithe, I'll show you you're new home!" The excited boy and Pokémon ran exuberantly inside the house.

"His first Pokémon; our boy's growing up" Ash marveled.

"He is" Misty agreed.

"So is it all right if I keep teaching him Jujutsu?" Ash had taught Sato a Jujutsu technique the previous night, which is what he had used to beat Gary.

"Well…he did only use it to protect that Growlithe and he is pretty gentle. I guess it would be good for him to learn how to defend himself and it could be a great way for you two to bond. All right, go ahead and teach him" Misty approved.

"Do you know how much I love you right now?" Ash asked romantically.

"Enough to do the dishes for me and rub my feet?"

"Well we were almost having a romantic moment there but that killed it."

"Well come inside anyway Romeo, your Juliet has dinner on the table" Misty joked as she went inside.

Ash rolled his eyes but as he walked inside he smiled, for his son had found his Pokémon partner and his training had begun.


	2. Sato's First Victory

**Disclaimer; I don't own Pokémon or any of the other works mentioned. Without further ado here is chapter two.**

And so Ash continued to teach his son the ancient martial art of Jujutsu. At first he treated the training like a simple game, showing Sato simple movements and forms and rewarding him with chocolate and other things when he performed them correctly. It was a while before Sato realized that his father was teaching him combat. In the purest form he saw it as a game, and a fun one at that. Ash had adapted the ancient samurai art into a learning system enjoyable for the young boy. Ash was not a strict teacher and had a lighthearted approach to educating Sato. So Sato took pleasure in this bonding experience, for it was in these lessons where he and his father were closest, and not only did Ash teach Sato self-defense but he also related to him his own experiences and stories as a Pokémon trainer. In time Sato began to imagine beginning his own journey with Growlithe.

For five years Sato learned the ways of his culture's martial arts and gained skill at a fairly brisk pace. Though in spite of that, since he was learning from his father and not a dojo, he received no belts or rank for his effort and there was no tangible sign of his progress…until one day.

Sato and Growlithe were taking a walk one day, five years after they had met. They walked through the very same park where they had met and often spent their free time. Sato was, unlike his father, rather quiet and mostly he and Growlithe kept to themselves on these strolls. As usual Sato held a book in his hands when and was silently reading to himself when a voice permeated his ears.

"Hey there nerd, are you ready to have a battle?" Gary Oak Junior's voice said as he held a Pokéball in his hand. Now and adolescent, he greatly resembled his father in almost every way, including his spiky, brown hair.

"I'm busy Gary" Sato replied dryly. There was some truth in this; he was on his way to his grandmother Deli Ketchum's house. She had been ill for a while and his mother had asked him to keep her company.

"Are you scared Sato? Now that my dad's given me my first Pokémon, those fancy moves you do won't count for anything" Gary taunted.

"With how much he spoils you rotten I'm surprised he made you wait the extra three years" Sato replied. It was true that children could become Pokémon trainers after reaching the age of ten, which Sato and Gary had superseded three years prior.

"Well you know how much my dad likes to keep my around the lab" Gary boasted. "Says I'm an invaluable asset. But now he realizes that it's time to carry on the old Oak tradition of kicking ass as the best Pokémon trainer in Pallet Town!"

"Sure" Sato sighed as he started walking away.

"I guess you're going to continue your family's tradition of being the biggest losers in Pallet Town!" Gary jeered.

"What?" Sato said, stopping.

"Well your dad was always trailing behind mine on their Pokémon journeys when they were kids and now you're too scared to have one little tiny battle with me; seems like your family will always be left in the dust."

"My dad is a way better Pokémon trainer than yours ever was" Sato returned calmly.

"Face it your family is nothing but a bunch of losers!"

"No we aren't." Sato was becoming mad now.

"Then prove it. Battle me!"

"Fine! If it'll get you to shut up."

Gary pressed the center button of his Pokéball and tossed it in the air. In a flash of red, a Squirtle materialized onto the ground.

"Give it your best shot Growlithe" Sato said. He of course realized that since Growlithe was a Fire Type and Squirtle was a Water Type he was at the disadvantage, but he only had one Pokémon, he had no other choice. Never had he been more thankful that his father had insisted on having him and Pikachu help him train Growlithe, though Growlithe was still a bit more of a house dog than a battler.

"If you think that mangy mongrel has any chance you're sadly mistaken" Gary mocked.

"Just shut up and fight" Sato said.

"If you insist. Squirtle use Water Gun!" Gary ordered. Squirtle spat a stream of water from its mouth that sped straight towards Growlithe.

"Dodge it!" Sato said. Growlithe jumped to the side and the water missed him narrowly.

Gary then ordered, "Use Rapid Spin!" Squirtle withdrew inside its shell and begun rotating extremely fast. It charged at Growlithe.

"Jump!" Sato commanded. Growlithe leapt above Squirtle before it could impale him.

_So it's strong enough to know Rapid Spin,_ Sato thought to himself. _I'd better see just how strong it is. _

"Turn around and use Flamethrower!" he yelled. Growlithe spun around and shout a wave of fire from his throat. As it engulfed Squirtle's form, the blue turtle continued spinning and shrugged the fire off.

_It's at least strong enough that fire won't cut it,_ Sato realized. _It'd be a good idea not to try that again._

"If you think fire will work on a Water Type then you're even dumber than you look!" Gary yelled. "Now use Bubble!"

Squirtle opened its mouth and out shot dozens of blue, glowing bubbles. Before Growlithe could react they struck him and he howled in pain.

"Now Tackle!" Squirtle darted forward and slammed its body into Growlithe. Growlithe latched onto Squirtle's shell with his paws.

"Bite!" Sato ordered frantically. Growlithe bit down on Squirtle's shoulder.

Before the attack could do any real damage Gary shouted, "Use Bubble!"

Squirtle's Bubble attack barraged Growlithe at close range and he was forced to release his grip and stumble back.

"This isn't going well" Sato mumbled. "Only close-range attacks work, but he'll see them coming a mile away. Wait, that's it."

"Quit talking to yourself nerd!" Gary jeered. "Get ready to loose. Finish this with Water Gun Squirtle!"

"Growlithe, use Flamethrower!" Sato said as an idea occurred to him.

Simultaneously the two attacks were launched and collided. Matching water with fire seemed a fool's strategy until Sato's plan came to fruition. The heat of the flames evaporated the water and the park was filled with a mist of steam.

"Run in zigzags until you reach Squirtle, then use Reversal" Sato ordered calmly.

Growlithe darted through the steam quickly and Squirtle could not pinpoint its location.

"Use Water Gun, hurry!" Gary shouted nervously. He like Sato knew that Reversal's power increased the more damage the Pokémon using it had taken and with the number Squirtle had done on Growlithe; this would be a particularly powerful one.

Squirtle fired its Water Gun attack randomly into the mist as it could see nothing. Finally, Growlithe began glowing orange and reached Squirtle, ramming his head into its body.

Squirtle was propelled into a nearby tree and crashed into its trunk. It fell to the ground, but stood up.

"Bite!"

Still under the cover of steam, Growlithe pounced at Squirtle, chomped down on its leg, and threw it into the air.

"Take Down!"

As the fog began to clear, Growlithe sprinted forward and as Squirtle fell to the ground, slammed square into its chest and knocked it back a dozen feet.

And that was the end of it. Squirtle did not rise or continue fighting.

"Squirtle!" Gary yelled sympathetically as he recalled the defeated turtle into its Pokéball. "I hope you're okay. You did great."

"Well I guess Growlithe and I will be on our way" Sato said.

"You won't be so lucky next time, nerd" Gary said smiling, though he said it differently than normal. He did not sound like a bully, he sounded like a rival.

Gary stood up and left without another word.

"We did it Growlithe!" Sato yelled, beaming at his first victory. Growlithe began barking excitedly and leapt onto Sato's chest, licking him affectionately.

As Sato fell softly to the ground, his head nudged something crystal-like that resembled a flower. Suddenly, it began glowing a mysterious light and a glowing seed shot from it and expanded until a holographic image was projected. Sato saw Growlithe defeating Squirtle again, in the past. The flower had recorded it. It was a Time Flower.

"Sato?" Ash's voice said from behind him.

"What are you doing here dad?" Sato asked confused.

"Did you activate that Time Flower?" Ash asked wondrously, as though he didn't believe it.

"I…I guess" Sato replied.

"Come with me. There's something you're finally old enough to know."

"Um…all right."

Sato walked over to Ash. Ash put his hands on Sato's shoulders and said, "Close your eyes."

Sato did as he was told.

The next thing Sato knew he was…somewhere else…somewhere he had never been before. He was in a cave, but it wasn't a dark cave. There were crystals running all throughout it, glowing crystals like the Time Flower.

"Where are we? How did we get here?" Sato asked. Before Ash said anything Pikachu appeared out of thin air and Sato nearly jumped out of his skin.

"_Warn me next time you're going to Teleport me somewhere. I was taking a nap_" Pikachu said groggily. 

"Pikachu, you can talk!" Sato exclaimed.

"_Uh oh, he heard me talking Ash_" Pikachu said guiltily.

"It's not a secret anymore" Ash told Pikachu.

"_Ah today's the big day_" Pikachu realized.

"Big day? What in the world is going on here?" Sato asked. Only then did he notice Growlithe was standing at his feet.

"Satoshi, you're finally old enough to know the truth. You know who the Guardians of Aura are right?" his father asked.

"Yeah" Sato said. Ash had given Sato many books on the Guardians of Aura which he enjoyed reading. The Guardians of Aura were a fictional elite race of heroes and warriors wielding amazing abilities who traveled all throughout ancient Japan doing good deeds. They used the power of their life force, or Aura, to give themselves unbelievable powers. And at their side was always a loyal, talking Pokémon partner. The first of them were Sir Aaron and his Lucario.

"I am a Guardian of Aura son" Ash said. "Pikachu is too. He is my partner."

"What…that's impossible; they aren't real" Sato replied.

"That's what most of the world believes. We are nearly extinct. Nearly every Guardian perished in the Second World War. The world has tried to phase out any evidence that we ever existed. Pikachu and I are all that's left of a once proud race of warriors. I've trained you in Jujutsu these five years so that when you were old enough, you could choose to become one of us."

"Choose?"

"Yes. No one is forced to become a Guardian or becomes one by accident. It is your choice. If you choose to be one, I'll teach you everything I know."

"What would I be agreeing to?"

"You would gain unbelievable power; you would be faster, stronger, and more agile than any living person. Your senses would be enhanced to superhuman levels; you could see in the darkest night, hear a needle hit the ground in a noisy room, smell a fire a hundred miles away, feel every grain of sand running through your hands, and taste flavor in the blandest of foods. You would become Psychic; able to move objects with your mind, gaze into the past and future, and speak telepathically."

"Forgetting the fact that I'm not sure any of this is real…Why wouldn't I choose that? That sounds great!"

"It comes with a price; responsibility. As a Guardian of Aura it will be your duty to protect the living creatures of our world wherever and whenever you can, even at the risk of your life."

This reminded Sato of the stories of brave heroes with stupendous abilities, of Harry Potter, of Eragon, Frodo Baggins, the Pevensive children, and others. The thought that he could become a swashbuckling champion like them was astonishing.

"I want to do it" he said.

"All right" Ash said. "Mew, partner to the Tree, I summon you!"

A pink, feline-like Pokémon floated down from the roof of the cave in front of Ash, Sato, Pikachu, and Growlithe.

"_Greetings Ash Tajiri, leader of the Guardians of Aura, I've been waiting for this day for a while_" Mew welcomed.

"A Mew" Sato marveled. "They're supposed to be extinct." He wondered why Mew had called his father by a strange surname, but did not press the matter.

"_So are the Guardians, silly boy_" Mew said childishly.

"I've brought my son here to see if the Tree of Beginning feels he is worthy of becoming a Guardian of Aura and I think that Growlithe is to be his partner" Ash explained.

"_I know you have silly, for my powers are similar to yours. I will take it from here_" Mew said as it flew over to Sato and faced him.

"_Satoshi Tajiri, do you want to become a Guardian of Aura_?" it asked.

"…Uh my last name is Ketchum…"

"_To the Guardians you will be known as Tajiri. Answer the question._"

"…Ok. Yes. I want to become a Guardian of Aura."

"_Then let the judgment begin The Tree will give you the powers your father spoke of if you are worthy._"

An orb of green light engulfed Sato, Mew, and Growlithe. They began glowing a blue glimmer. Sato felt on odd strain on his body and felt almost like his spirit was being lifted out of it. He began groaning from the effort of staying awake as the light invaded every area of his consciousness. Suddenly, something compelled Sato to hold out his hands and a ball of blue light formed in them.

The judgment ended. The light faded away. Sato and Growlithe dropped to the ground, exhausted.

"_They are worthy_" Mew proclaimed proudly. "_The power of Aura is theirs._"

Ash smiled.

"_They will become powerful Guardians of Aura. Train them well. But for now take them home. They're pretty tired from the effort that took._"

"I will."

Ash prepared to Teleport everyone back to their home when Mew quickly said, "_Wait, before you leave there is something you must know._"

"_What is it Mew?_" Pikachu asked.

"_The prophecy is nigh._"

"What prophecy?" Ash asked.

"_The Prophecy of the Scorned Dragon._"

Ash's eyes widened and his heart was full of fear at the mention of this most terrible of prophecies. 


	3. The Prophecy of the Scorned Dragon

**Some of the characters mentioned in this chapter are from the prequel "Guardians of Aura" in case you do not recognize them.**

Ash searched frantically through the books in his study, tearing it apart to find the specific one. Since he had arrived home he had looked as though he was trying to find a flashlight during an earthquake, desperate to learn more of this prophecy Mew had spoken of. If his memory was correct, this prophecy would spell horrible consequences if it was true. He prayed that he would learn that it wasn't. Finally, he found an ancient tome that his grandfather had given him.

He opened the book and tore anxiously through its pages until he found the right one. It was an ancient scroll embedded into the book's spine. In Japanese characters, the words that could be nearly literally translated into "The Scorned Dragon" were painted across the top. Detailed illustrations had also been tinted onto the page. The paint was chipping and faded; the scroll was clearly hundreds of years old. The main illustration was of a gigantic, green dragon that could be none other than the legendary Pokémon Rayquaza. From its mouth the dragon breathed flames that engulfed an illustration of the Earth. At the bottom of the page was a picture of a single person holding a staff. Light shone from the person that warded off the flames as they approached him.

There were also more texts inscribed onto the prophecy, written in kanji. The ideograms next to the Rayquaza said "The Great Dragon descends from its perch in the sky". Next to the fire-surrounded Earth they read, "Punishing mankind for its misdeeds". Around the flames there were letters saying, "The world will be destroyed". Underneath the man wielding a staff they said, "Unless the Chosen One reveals the light and waves away the flames". At the very bottom of the page the last letters said, "The great dragon will pass judgment for seven days. It will take no life until the final day. Pokémon will be passed over but mankind's time will end, unless the one chosen by the power of Aura to restore the future is revealed. Only one chosen by the Aura can be the Chosen One."

Sato had been watching Ash quietly. When Ash finished translating the scroll to himself he said, "This is not good."

"Does this have anything to do with what Mew said about a prophecy?" Sato asked.

"Yes" Ash answered. "The Prophecy of the Scorned Dragon; Rayquaza feels that mankind is responsible for the world's suffering and to punish us for our sins he will destroy the world."

"The world's going to be destroyed?"

"Not the Pokémon, but yes, every last human will be destroyed."

Sato didn't know how to respond to that. Instead of addressing this prediction that he in his mind, instantly decided couldn't be accurate asked, "Where did this prophecy come from?"

"Guardian Oracles predicted it over 500 years ago" Ash explained.

"Oracles?" Sato repeated.

"Future seers; some Guardians of Aura specialized in their Psychic ability to see into the future and past, always waiting for a vision to present itself. They weren't the best fighters because their minds were always somewhere else, but the visions they saw often became deadly prophecies that the world would be foolish to ignore. This book is full of ancient prophecies. Some of them have come true, others haven't, and others might."

"Does that book say anything about stopping Rayquaza?"

"Yes. It says only the one chosen by the Aura; the Chosen One can stop Rayquaza from destroying the world. It must mean a Guardian of Aura. It must mean me."

"Well it could be me" Sato suggested, though not even halfway believing that.

"I don't think so. You're only 13 and the person in this picture looks like a man, and no offense meant, but I am much stronger and more experienced then you" Ash rationalized, partly due to a romanticized desire to be the Chosen One.

"Fair enough" Sato said simply. "How are you going to stop Rayquaza when it comes? Are you going to kill it?"

"I doubt that I can" Ash admitted. "But it says I have to reveal the light so maybe I just have to convince Rayquaza that mankind deserves to live."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I don't know yet. But I'm the Chosen One so I guess I'll figure it out."

Pikachu and Growlithe had sat quietly in the study observing the conversation. Pikachu finally said something that had tugged away at his mind, "_What if you're wrong Ash and you aren't the Chosen One? What if you can't stop Rayquaza and you don't find the person that can because you were so sure that you were?_"

"The only Guardians of Aura left are the four of us Pikachu" Ash pointed out. "Who else could it be?"

"_It could be one of the Prophets_" Pikachu suggested.

"No it couldn't."

"Who are the Prophets?" Sato asked.

"Evil Guardians" Ash said. "In World War II they betrayed the other Guardians and started a civil war within the order. It was during that war that nearly all of the Guardians died. It's because of them that the Guardians of Aura are nearly extinct. Why would any of them be the Chosen One?!"

"_Ash they surrendered peacefully to the Americans on the day of the attack, they felt remorse_" Pikachu reminded rationally.

"What?" Sato asked.

Ash, clearly exasperated that they were still talking about this explained, "Over 10 years before you were born the leader of the Prophets, Tanaka Yoshiro, rebuilt his army and tried to invade to United States to claim his revenge. Pikachu and I defeated Tanaka and the Tree of Beginning used its powers to influence the rest of the army to see the error of their ways. Most of them allowed themselves to be killed but a small number of them were arrested and taken to a secret terrorist prison."

"_You and Misty had your first kiss after we beat Tanaka didn't you?_" Pikachu asked despite the fact that it was off-subject.

"Yeah we did" Ash remembered fondly.

"Wait a minute" Sato said shortly. "You killed the most evil Guardian of Aura on Earth?" Even though Sato had accepted the fact that his father was a Guardian he had a hard time rapping his mind around the idea that he was also a warrior hero.

"No I didn't kill him" Ash said.

"_But he is dead,_" Pikachu added, "_unlike the dozens of potential Chosen Ones whose powers are rotting away in that prison._"

"Okay Pikachu I'll bite" Ash said crossly. "Let's say one of those lowly Prophets is the Chosen One. What am I supposed to do, break them all out of prison and become a fugitive when this is all over? The point is I'm the only free Guardian of Aura who is strong enough to do this so we'd better hope I'm the Chosen One."

"_I get the point_" Pikachu said. "_You just shouldn't be so closed-minded about this._"

"Sure" Ash said, shrugging it off.

"So you defeated the evil Guardians by yourselves?" Sato asked, wanting to know more about this secret adventure.

"Not by ourselves" Ash said. "My grandfather was always there to help and guide us along with his witty partner Houndour. Not to mention our friend Yumi."

"Wait a minute you mean Yumi, the wife of your gym leader friend Brock in Pewter City; she's a Guardian of Aura?" Sato asked non-believingly.

"Yes" Ash said, now smiling at the prospect of telling the tale of this quest to his son, seeing as most of the world knew nothing of it.

"Wait a minute, why was your grandfather your teacher? What happened to your father?"

"He was killed by a Prophet named Nobutada before I was born. He was trying to recruit him to join the Prophets but he refused and died fighting. I wish we could have met him."

"What kind of Pokémon did he have for a partner?"

Pikachu answered this question, "_He had a quiet but confident Machop._"

"Could he talk?"

"_Yes._"

Sato realized something. "Will Growlithe be able to talk one day?" he asked.

"_The ability lies dormant in him now. He just has to learn how to use it_" Pikachu answered.

"Whoa" Sato said as he looked to Growlithe and tried to imagine the thought of him speaking. Since the day they met they had always silently understood each other but the thought that they could actually speak to each other was breathtaking.

"_If you practice speaking telepathically to him, he'll master the ability._"

"How do I do that?"

"_You think the words clearly in your head. But you think them as if you are speaking with your voice._"

"When you speak with your mind," Ash said, "it will feel almost exactly like speaking with your mouth."

Sato decided to try this. He looked at Growlithe. _Hi, _he thought clearly. Nothing happened.

He squinted and concentrated greatly. "_Hi_" he said with his mind.

"_He used telepathy!_" Pikachu exclaimed.

Growlithe tilted his head curiously. "_Hi Sato_" the Pokémon said.

"His first words!" Ash exclaimed. "Whoa that came naturally to you! It took me and Pikachu hours to be able to do that on our own. Physical stuff came a little more naturally to us. I guess you'll be a little more mentally talented."

"_Well they are a great deal smarter than we were at their age_" Pikachu said.

"No doubt about that" Ash chuckled. This was the first time Sato could actually think of someone praising his intelligence, as opposed to mocking it.

Suddenly, Ash dropped to the floor and his eyes closed.

"Dad!" Sato shouted.

"_What happened to him?_" Growlithe asked, saying his first complete question.

"_Okay now you're just showing off_" Pikachu said.

"_Sorry Pikachu_" Growlithe apologized.

"_You learned my name already?_"

"_I'm a good listener._"

"Excuse me!" Sato interrupted. "Can we get back to the issue of my unconscious father?!"

"_He's fine_" Pikachu said. "_He's having a vision. If it caused him to loose consciousness it must be a big one._"

Ash woke up and rose to his feet. His expression was anxious and worried.

"_What did you see?_" Pikachu asked.

"Rayquaza will appear in Tokyo tomorrow. He will be met with a futile show of force. He will announce his Seven Days of Judgment and return to the sky until the seventh day" Ash described fearfully.

"_We have to prepare_" Pikachu said.

"You're right. Sato tell your mother everything that happened today. Pikachu and I will go to Tokyo and wait to meet Rayquaza. We'll try to convince him to end this, and if we can't, we'll find another way to stop him" Ash said.

"Will you fight him?" Sato asked.

"If that's the only way we can stop him then we will. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to get ready."

Later Ash was in his room dressing himself in the garbs of a Guardian of Aura. He put on a gray shirt and leggings and wore a long, blue vest over them. He laced up a pair of cerulean boots as well as slipping a pair of navy gloves, each embedded with a spherical crystal on his hands. The outfit was complete with a black cape tied around his neck and a black hat with a yellow symbol stitched on a blue covering topping the crown of his head. From a hiding place in his attic Ash obtained a long, wooden staff that at its head had metal ringing surrounding a diamond. Ash was wearing clothes identical to and wielding the staff of the first Guardian of Aura, Sir Aaron.

Ash walked out of his house with Pikachu at his side and prepared to teleport to Tokyo and lie in waiting until Rayquaza descended until he heard his wife's voice calling to him.

As Misty ran out of the house towards her husband Ash said, "Don't try to stop me Misty!"

But that wasn't her intention at all. In her hands she held the katana that once belonged to Ash's father and that his grandfather had bestowed upon him.

"You can't slay a dragon without your sword" she said simply, smiling sweetly.

"Oh…right" Ash said embarrassed as he realized he had forgotten his weapon. "Thanks Misty."

He took his sword and nestled it at his hip, under his belt.

"Promise me you'll be careful out there Ash" Misty asked of him.

"I was born careful" Ash said cheerfully.

"I'm serious Ash" Misty said. "This isn't like when we were kids and you did something dangerous. You have kids that wouldn't have a father if you…didn't make it back."

"I'll be back Misty" Ash vowed. "I promise." Misty threw her arms around Ash and they engaged in a long, loving kiss.

"I'll hold you to that promise."

"_Don't worry Misty, he's got me to watch his back_" Pikachu reminded happily.

"I know you'll keep him safe Pikachu" Misty chuckled. "But Ash have you thought of something?"

"What?" Ash asked.

"Rayquaza is a legendary Pokémon; his appearance will attract a lot of attention. There'll be thousands of people watching him. If you face him, you'll reveal yourself to the rest of the world as a Guardian of Aura. You won't be able to keep it a secret anymore."

"I know, but what choice do I have?"

"Just be aware that after you stop Rayquaza our lives will change forever."

"Dad?" Sato's voice said. He walked from the house, behind followed his ten-year-old brother Ken, who they called Kenny, and his seven-year-old sister Kasumi, who they called Sue. Kenny, to put it simply looked exactly like his father save for the color of his hair, which was red like his mother's. The same could be said of Kasumi; she was the spitting image of her mother but she had her father's black hair. The best way to describe Sato's appearance would have been a combination of his parents; he had his father's hair color and facial features but his mother's blue eyes. He was also tall and lanky as opposed to his father's short and lean appearance as a youth.

"Don't you want me to come with you?" Sato asked.

Growlithe then walked out from behind Sato's legs and said, "_We can help you._"

"You're too young to go with them boys" Misty said.

"But Growlithe and I are Guardians of Aura too" Sato protested.

"You are" Ash agreed. "But you have to stay here and take care of the family. While I'm in Tokyo, you're the man of the house Sato."

"Dad" Ken said, "How are you going to stop Rayquaza?" Ken was someone who was quick to get to the point.

Ash looked incriminatingly to Sato. "They were listening in when I explained everything to mom; they know everything" Sato clarified, a little guilt in his voice.

"I don't know exactly how we're going to stop him, but we're going to no matter what" Ash answered after he finished rolling his eyes.

Kasumi then spoke. She was of course the youngest and most innocent of Ash's children, but she was aware of the situation's direness. "Daddy" she said. "You're coming home right? He isn't going to kill you is he?"

"What?" Ash asked a little stunned. "Of course I'm coming back" Ash promised. "Nothing's going to stop me from getting back to you kids."

He then looked to Sato, "Sato, you're the man of the house."

"Right dad" Sato said nervously.

"Kenny" Ash then said, "Mind your brother and take care of your sister."

"You can count on me dad!" Kenny proclaimed. Unlike Sato, Kenny had his father's confidence.

"Sue" Ash addressed. "Listen to your mom and brothers, and don't worry about me. Everything will be okay."

"Okay daddy" Kasumi said. She then walked over and hugged her father seeking comfort from the fear he might die in his strong arms. Ken and Sato then joined in.

When they pulled away Ash said, "Goodbye everyone."

"_We'll be back soon_" Pikachu said as he touched Ash's foot. In a flash of light, they disappeared.

"I hope they'll be okay" Sato said.

"They will" Kenny assured. He sounded as if there was no doubt that this was true.

"I wish they didn't have to leave" Sue said sadly.

"Don't worry kids" Misty said. "You know what'll cheer you up; how about a visit to grandma's house?" The children had always enjoyed visiting their grandmother as she often baked them delectable treats and told them stories of their parents' Pokémon training lives.

"Yay grandma's house!" Sue cheered.

Sato then suddenly remembered he had been on his way to their Grandma Ketchum's house when this whole thing had started. He hoped she wasn't mad at him for being so tardy.

"Sound's good" he said.

"Sure does!" Kenny boomed excitedly.

"Let's go" Misty said and they began walking in the direction of the house Ash once lived in as a child.

"This isn't right" Sato said to Growlithe. "I wish we were strong enough to help my dad."

"_Don't worry Sato_" Growlithe comforted. "_One day we'll be strong enough to go on all kinds of crazy adventures._"

**I hope you enjoyed reading! Please review.**


	4. Rayquaza

**Small note; I am aware that Rayquaza is technically genderless but when I was writing I just kept hearing its voice as male, and its character just seemed more like a male to me, plus it is more intimidating than the word 'it'. He is still genderless but will continued to be referred to as 'he'.**

The mood when the Ketchum family reached Delia Ketchum's house could only be labeled as forced enthusiasm. They did their best to try to appear joyous but the underlying worry of their father's safety prevented their minds from focusing on much else. Though perhaps it was harder for no one but Misty, who not only had to suppress her deep anxiety but also was bound by the duties of a mother to appear strong to her children and couldn't let them realize that in reality, every passing moment she wished that Ash hadn't left.

Sato the meanwhile cursed his weakness as his father's words continuously rang in his head like a giant bell precariously perched within an inch of his ear. 'You're the man of the house now Sato'. How he hated those words. He knew he couldn't fulfill this staggering expectation. He certainly did not feel like a man; he had no friends other than his pet Growlithe, he spoke with such weakness, he was always teased and cast aside by children of greater caliber than him, and as he watched his family feign happiness when they were in actuality gripped in fear, he realized that if he was stronger person he would be able to do something about it.

Another contributing factor towards Sato's self-resentment was his suspicion that Kenny would make a better Guardian of Aura than him, if he had been born first. He mirrored Ash in so many ways it was uncanny. He was confident and bold; he knew companionship with friends who could walk on two legs and no bully had ever gotten the better of him. He greatly aspired to become a Pokémon trainer just like his parents and was planning to begin his journey quite soon, unlike Sato, whose dreams and ambitions were fogged in mystery, even to him. And he was brave; he once jumped into a rushing creek to help what he thought was a Pokémon in peril, though it turned out to be a doll. Sato wondered why he couldn't be the man of the house.

Growlithe had somehow miraculously picked up and Sato's emotions of self-pity and in an attempt to comfort him said simply, "_It's not your fault Sato_."

Sato remembering that his siblings now knew of his father's secrets realized that he could respond verbally but instead decided to keep his response private. He also noticed that Growlithe had somehow made his comment mute to the others.

"_It is my fault Growlithe. Why am I so weak_?" he said.

"_You aren't weak_" Growlithe said as though the notion was laughable. "_You seemed strong enough to teach Gary a lesson the day we met._"

"_Yeah well my dad was strong enough to defeat the most evil Guardian of Aura in history. How did it happen Growlithe? Why am I so different from him?_"

"_What do you mean?_"

"_I'm nothing like my dad. I mean…I'm not a Pokémon trainer, I'm not brave, I'm not strong, I don't have a group of best friends who would do anything for me, I barely even look like him! Why did he choose to make me the Aura Guardian?_"

"_You're the oldest_" Growlithe explained. He sounded as if he didn't know why Sato would feel so dejected, but he understood that he did.

"_Well Kenny would make a better Guardian of Aura than me. He's like a clone of our dad_" Sato groaned.

"_You can't compare yourself to your brother and your dad Sato. You're not Ash and you're not Kenny; you're Sato._"

"_That's the problem._"

"_Just give yourself time. You're still young. But you'll grow into your powers and you'll become the greatest Guardian of Aura ever, I know it._"

After visiting the upstairs, Misty returned to inform her children that their grandmother had confined herself to her bed all day but she was now awake and asked each of them to extend their greetings to her individually. She asked Sato to go first.

The door to Delia's room creaked subtly as Sato and Growlithe entered through it. Ash's ill mother lay in a small bed in the corner of the bedroom resting silently. She was not particularly aged for a grandmother, though her hair was still more grey than brown. The two Guardians in training made their way over to her side.

"Hello little Sato" she welcomed quietly but kindly. Her face was permanently marked with the nurturing nature of a mother.

"Hi grandma" Sato returned.

"How are you?"

"Good, you know, so and so."

"Come here," she whispered suddenly, "let me see your face."

Sato uncomfortably did as he was instructed.

"You look so much like him."

"…What?" Sato asked.

"You remind me of him so much."

"What are you talking about?" Sato asked confused. His mind couldn't rap itself around the concept that she could possible be comparing him to his dad.

"Yes" his grandmother said. "He's been gone for so long. I miss him so much every day. But when I see you reading your books, or playing with your Growlithe it's almost like he's alive again."

Sato was stricken by this when after a while he understood. She was referring to his grandfather, who had met his doom at an evil Guardian's hands. "Go on" he said. He knew very little about his grandfather.

"You're named after your grandfather Sato, remember that. He was a great man. He loved me and your father so much. He sacrificed his life to protect us. That's why your father named you after him. Never forget that. I know that Ash made you a Guardian of Aura, and I know that you'll do great things" Deli said in a way so serious that it was not becoming of a casual visit.

"_Sato_" Growlithe whispered. "_Something's wrong._"

Delia began coughing meekly.

"Grandma?" Sato asked, a small kernel of worry forming in his chest.

"I never loved any man like I loved Satoshi" she continued as though he had said nothing. "He was shy, but also very kind, brave, intelligent, and loyal; too loyal to even consider betraying us. You're like him in so many ways."

"No…" Sato sighed wearily. "No I'm really not very brave at all; not brave enough to look death in the face the way he did anyway."

"You have his modesty too" Delia acknowledged, at the moment not seeing the difference between modesty and under-confidence.

Sato merely shrugged.

Delia reached out and touched his cheek softly with the palm of her hand. "Always remember, my little Satoshi" she said. "Underneath all your troubles, inhibitions, and weaknesses is the strongest Aura and heart I have ever seen."

Her hand slid from his face and dropped limply on the bed. With a dreary sigh, her eyes closed.

"…Grandma?" Sato mumbled, too shocked to process what was happening.

"Grandma?" he said again. She did not stir.

"Grandma?!"

Sato began breathing heavily, nearly hyperventilating.

"Mom!" he called urgently, though naturally due to his tendency to mumble he did not yell loud enough.

Growlithe began barking frantically.

Misty impatiently swung the door open, clearly annoyed by the noisy, sporadic outburst.

"Sato will you please stop him from barking like…" Misty began when she saw Delia lying motionless and no longer breathing. "…Oh my God."

Meanwhile, outside the city limits of Tokyo, Ash and Pikachu rested under a tree, in anticipation.

"_Is there a particular reason we came a day early_?" Pikachu asked as the passing time grew dull and monotonous.

"Because I lied" Ash said flatly.

"_What do you mean you lied?_"

"I didn't want the family to worry. If my premonition was correct, Rayquaza will appear today."

"_Any idea when?_"

BOOM!

A huge swirling blast of thunder tore through the sky and the eardrums of every creature within a hundred miles of it. Clouds turned a deadly shade of black and swirled into a vortex hovering above the city. Veins of lighting flashing were the only illumination as the sun was completely eclipsed.

"I would say he'll appear in about five seconds" Ash said as he rose to his feet.

From the epicenter of the vortex coiled the form of a titanic reptile. Yellow stripes and circles ran up and down its body and red-tipped rudder-shaped wings kept him airborne. He had four horn-like structures penetrating from his head and his only appendages were two arms, each tipped with a clawed hand. Black marks that formed the shape of a Y covered the dragon's chest. A terrible roar was heard as the mighty beast descended into the city.

"Guess we'd better go give our guest a warm welcome" Ash said as he and Pikachu began to walk towards the city.

Rayquaza landed in the center of the city and floated in midair as he landed. Hoards of people ran screaming as the dragon continued to roar and screech. Panic ran throughout the streets until police officers arrived and created a perimeter around the gigantic monster. Then stillness came; the policemen and Rayquaza didn't move, both waiting for the other to make the first move.

Next, the media arrived. Cameramen and news-people herded around the outside of the perimeter.

Rayquaza then finally stirred, using an ability that had lay vestigial among his many powers for centuries.

"_Humans!_" his booming telepathic voice rang. "_I am Rayquaza, Guardian of the Skies!_"

The crowds of overseers were silent as the dragon spoke. The camera holders zoomed in on Rayquaza.

"_For centuries it has been my displeasure to gaze down from my perch upon the disgraceful evolution of my planet. Once there was a time when all creatures lived harmoniously with nature and the Earth lived in balance. But now you humans in your blind pursuit of wealth and power have razed the Earth! Forests destroyed! Oceans strewn with muck! Species of Pokémon nearly wiped out! The air turned toxic with carbon! Wars tearing apart a once beautiful planet! These are just some of the inconceivable revulsions you humans are responsible for! Finally I have decided that I can no longer stand by idly as the planet I have dedicated my life to preserving is killed! I have come down from my home in the sky to restore the planet to its former magnificence. Seven days you humans have left! Seven days to repent, seven days to see the error of your conduct, seven days to pray to your gods and coddle your loved ones. Do as I have instructed humans for after seven days have passed you all will die._"

The crowds stayed in a state of awed silence. A few of the police officers readied their weapons and took aim at Rayquaza but they were instructed to hold their fire.

"_Ah, fear_" Rayquaza recognized. "_Fear of death, one of the only things you humans have in common with the untainted Pokémon of this world._"

"_Well go on then_" the dragon continued. "_You fear me so much then try to stop me if you dare. It will be a pointless gesture, but I know many of you would prefer to go down fighting._"

No one moved a muscle. Until, among all the silence, the pop of a single bullet being shot from a police officer's rifle was as loud as if it was an atomic explosion. The bullet struck Rayquaza in the face, but his thick hide could not be penetrated by it.

Rayquaza turned his gargantuan head to the officer who had shot at him, whose gun was shaking in his sweaty hands.

"_Firearms,_" Rayquaza laughed, "_your humans' pathetic attempt to compensate for your lack of powers!_"

Rayquaza struck the attacking officer with the back of his giant palm. The policeman flew back several dozen feet and was knocked unconscious.

"_Hardly worth the effort_" the beast gloated.

"Open fire!" one of the police officers ordered. Flurries of red-hot bullets sang through the air and were sprayed all over Rayquaza's giant body. But it was for not, each projectile had no effect.

A police helicopter flew through the air towards the battle. Attached to it was an armed machine gun of much greater caliber than the other officer's weapons.

A deafening ringing ripped through the air as the helicopter turned its arms on Rayquaza.

The helicopter's gun was slightly more effective than the others. Rather than Rayquaza not feeling anything more than a light tap, he felt as though he was being bitten by dozens of tiny mosquitoes and cringed in discomfort.

When the helicopter drew in too close, the dragon stretched out his neck and crushed it between his mighty jaws, though he did not bite down hard enough to kill the policemen inside of it, for as the prophecy told, he planned to kill no one till the seventh day. So he flung the destroyed flying machine to the ground.

Growing bored, Rayquaza opened his mouth and in it lit an orb of yellow energy. He fired his Hyper Beam attack and drenched the perimeter in a river of flame as the gasoline in the police cars burst into combustion and the police officers ran for cover.

"_Is this all?_" Rayquaza shouted judgingly. "_This is all the resistance you humans can offer, all you can do to defend your species. Pathetic! I am embarrassed to share even the most remote common ancestor with you!_"

As the ignited fuel of the police cars continued to burn, a blue light shone through the flames and quelled them. The source of the extinguishing glow came from Ash, and the staff he held in his gloved hands as he approached Rayquaza with Pikachu at his side.

"_Who is this?_" Rayquaza asked, intrigued, "_One so bold as to face me with not but a single Pokémon at his side?_"

"I am Ash Tajiri Ketchum" Ash announced confidently. A glance at the cameras and members of the press surrounding him made him hesitate but he finally added, "I am the last of the Guardians of Aura and this is my partner Pikachu."

"_Ah a Guardian of Aura, I know of your order_" Rayquaza said. "_Humans with the powers of Pokémon; the only force of good in the human world I have ever observed._"

"We've come to ask you not to destroy the world."

Rayquaza looked insulted. "_Why should I listen to you_?" he asked conceitedly.

"Didn't you just say that the Guardians of Aura were the only force of good in the human world?" Ash asked confusedly.

"_Yes_" Rayquaza said. "_And where have you been Guardian? Where have you been all this time while war and industrialism tore apart the Earth? Where were you? Why have you done nothing?_"

Ash was stricken by this incrimination roughly. Now he truly remembered for the first time that since he stopped Tanaka from conquering the globe he had done nothing else with his powers as a Guardian. He had not used his abilities for the good of the world. He had merely remained in hiding and waited for the day when he would have children he could pass on his knowledge to and allowed the world to stay the way it was.

"…I…I had to rebuild the order" Ash rationalized. "If the world knew I existed then they would have tried to stop me. The others, they think that it's too dangerous for the Guardians to return. I had to remain in hiding so that I could train more Guardians."

"_Is that so?!_" Rayquaza boomed as it shot its head two inches from Ash's face. "_Then tell me oh wise and powerful Guardian how close are you to restoring your order to its former glory? How many other Guardians of Aura have you trained?_"

Ash gulped as the shame of his next statement croaked from his mouth, "…One."

Rayquaza released an earsplitting roar from its gigantic throat. "_You are useless! You may have the powers of a Pokémon but you are no different than any other human! You are so fearful of being ostracized for you differences that you were content to sit and watch the world burn as you could have been training others or using your own abilities to protect the planet! It is only now that your life is in immediate danger that you reveal yourself to them and only because of the superficial promise of becoming their hero! If anything your existence is reason more for me to annihilate your species._"

Ash's embarrassment towards hearing this astonishing truth silenced him. But Pikachu was unshaken. He said, "_You don't think we're going to stand here and let you destroy the world do you?_"

"_Why do you stand alongside the corrupt human Pikachu?_" Rayquaza asked. "_I have no intention to kill you or any other Pokémon; Pokémon are pure, without sin. You do not have to stand against me. You are in no danger._"

"_Some of my best friends are human_" Pikachu explained. "_And I'll defend them to the death._"

"_I won't kill you even if you fight me_" Rayquaza promised, sounding much kinder than when speaking to Ash. "_You're not evil like humans. You are merely misguided. Your nature is so innocent that you have fooled yourself to believing that they have good in them._"

"_I'm not some naïve child Rayquaza_" Pikachu insisted. "_I know that there are many humans who use their intelligence for selfishness and evil. But there are also good, kind, innocent people who have done nothing to deserve death. Why can't you give them a chance?_"

"_I did give them a chance_" Rayquaza informed bitterly. "_Years ago when Groudon and Kyogre began their Earth- shattering battle I stopped them, hoping that the revelation of how close the humans came to extinction would inspire them to change. It did not. There are no innocents among them! They are completely unwilling to change! They will not stop until they have sucked the planet dry of its life! I must stop them!_"

"_You're wrong!_"

"_You are wrong!_"

"_We will stop you by whatever means necessary Rayquaza. Right Ash?_"

Ash had been twirling the staff in his hands, his head held low, still disappointed in himself. But after Pikachu asked this he affirmed, "…Yes. If we have to fight you or even kill you to save the world, we'll do it."

"_You kill me?_" Rayquaza chortled. "_That is the most ridiculous notion I have ever heard! I would love to see you try. Your guns and bullets are useless against me, what makes you think you stand a chance?_"

"We Guardians are stronger than ordinary humans and Pokémon, Rayquaza" Ash informed proudly.

"_Is that so?_" Rayquaza challenged. "_Well then, why don't you prove it?_"

Quick as a flash, Rayquaza's humongous tail slammed into Ash's chest and sent him flying into the hood of a car.

"_That was easy._"

Ash quickly jumped to his feet and took a fighting stance, the head of his staff tilted towards his reptilian assailant. A field of his Aura was constantly surrounding Ash's body protecting it from external attacks as well as his superior physical resilience.

"_Well then, I knew that wouldn't kill you but I am impressed that you recovered so quickly_" Rayquaza admitted. "_This may be entertaining._"

"Yeah" Ash said. "It'll be a riot." The jewel in Sir Aaron's staff began glowing luminously and a splash of energy shot from it and struck Rayquaza on the cheek.

The great dragon howled in pain as the Aura Sphere, enhanced with power from the staff, burned a mark on his skin.

"_That staff is great power_" Rayquaza acknowledged angrily. "_I did not anticipate that you would actually have the ability to injure me. This is problematic. Perhaps you are a threat…but not for long._"

In the serpent's mouth formed another yellow orb of energy and his Hyper Beam shot forward like an enraged wasp.

"_Look out_!" Pikachu yelled as he jumped to the side of the blast.

Ash leapt far into the air, above Rayquaza's head but as he was about to land the dragon's large tail recoiled and smacked him full force, launching him into the window of an office building and knocking the staff from his hand.

"_Take that human!_" said Rayquaza proudly.

"_No one does that to my friend!_" Pikachu insisted vehemently as a in his tiny body he charged up static electricity and let loose a huge bolt of lighting. Rayquaza roared in pain when the bolt hit him.

"_A Pokémon as common as a Pikachu should not have the capacity to harm me!_" Rayquaza cursed as he recovered.

Meanwhile Ash rose to his inside of the office he had been propelled to and walked over to the window and saw that Pikachu had Rayquaza occupied. Thinking quickly, his eyes located his staff and realizing that since it enhanced his powers greatly he knew he had a much better chance to win the fight with it.

"So that's how he wants it huh?" Ash said as he drew his sword.

A man standing next to Ash who worked in the office was holding a cup of coffee and shaking nervously as he stared at the hole shattered in the window.

Ash shortsightedly took the coffee, took a drink and said, "T.G.I.F huh?"

The man nodded timidly.

"See ya" Ash said as he jumped from the window and landed on Rayquaza's back.

"_You just don't know when to quit!_" Rayquaza scoffed as he shook Ash loose and he landed on the roof of a smaller building.

Rayquaza drove his head forward, his jaws wide open and prepared to snap them closed on Ash, but with the truest aim Ash swung his sword forward and slit a bloodstained cut on Rayquaza's face.

Seizing the opportunity, Ash teleported and reappeared next to his staff. Sheathing his sword, he quickly picked up the stave as the giant tail of Rayquaza again swung at his head. Avoiding the attack Ash bounded through the air, did a flip above the dragon's head and landed in a noble stance, weapon at the ready, and prepared to end the battle.

Suddenly, a clear, blue beam flashed from Rayquaza's cruel jaws and as it engulfed Ash its cold embrace froze a thick layer of ice around his body. The Ice Beam attack had successfully immobilized him.

"_Teleport out of the ice Ash!_" Pikachu yelled anxiously.

"….I…can't…" Ash nearly whispered. The ice was so cold it was causing his central nervous system to become sluggish, and his mouth and the single eye on the unfrozen half of his head to move slowly. His mind and body where too paralyzed to do anything; if he wasn't a Guardian he would surely freeze to death in a matter of minutes, but his Aura protected his major body functions.

"_Unlike you humans I am a creature of my word_" Rayquaza bragged. "_I said I would kill no one till the seventh day and I meant it. However you are the only human on Earth who is actually a threat to me. Therefore you shall remain frozen where you stand until the seventh day and I will make an example of you by killing you first._"

"…Run…Pikachu…"Ash ordered meekly.

"Are_ you crazy?! I'm not leaving you here_" Pikachu protested.

"…Get…help" Ash said.

"_Who on Earth can actually help us?!_" Pikachu shouted.

"If…he freezes you too….there won't be…a…chance" Ash said as his voice grew weaker and weaker.

Pikachu hesitated but he knew the truth in Ash's words. Even if there was nobody besides them who was strong enough to stop Rayquaza, there would be no chance for them to do it if they were both incapacitated. He turned around and ran as fast as his paws would carry. "_I'll be back Ash!_"

"_Forget about him_" Rayquaza said. "_There is no one who is strong enough to help you. There is no one stronger than me._"

"…He's stronger…than…you think…dragon…" Ash said defiantly. Rayquaza used his Ice Beam to encapsulate the rest of Ash's body in ice, rendering him unconscious.

"_Now no one can stand in my way._"


	5. The Afterlife

Sato's head was throbbing dully. Each moment seemed to take an eternity to pass. For a instant he didn't remember anything, even how to speak. He could barely see past his nose; the air around him had become a dense blue-purple fog. As his wits finally returned to him he began to wonder why they had been lost in the first place. Where was he? How did he get there? The last thing he remembered doing was…

"Grandma?" he said urgently, twisting his head in all directions. No answer came. The mysterious fog extended infinitely. He seemed to be completely alone.

"_Where are we Sato?_" Growlithe's voice suddenly asked. Sato looked down at his feet and saw his dog standing beside him.

"I don't know" he answered.

"_My head is killing me._"

"Mine is too, it almost feels like…I passed out."

"_Yeah. Maybe this place is…some kind of dream._"

"Then why are we both here?"

Sato looked around inquiringly dozens of times. He continued to see nothing.

Suddenly, a spectral vibrating sound began to buzz in the air. A dim light began to glow that slowly formed into the silhouette of a man. The man was tall and muscular and had black hair. Though what struck Sato most about him was that he wore the same clothes Ahs had put on in preparation for his duel with Rayquaza; the traditional garb of Sir Aaron.

"D…dad?" Sato asked uncertainly. Though as he said it he knew the question was ridiculous; this man was much taller and thinner than his father.

"Well I am somebody's dad" the stranger said as his form became complete and he walked towards the boy. Despite his body now being a solid object he retained the ghostly blue glow around him.

Finally Sato could make out the man's face. There was something oddly familiar about his features.

"Do I…know you?" Sato asked.

The man shook his head. "No not really" he replied. "That's too bad too. I think being a grandpa would have been pretty fun."

Sato's eyes widened. "You're my grandpa?" he asked astounded. The man nodded happily.

For a long drag of time Sato merely stared at him, a mix of confusion and disbelief clouding his mind.

"No offense meant but if you're my grandfather aren't you supposed to be…you know…dead?" he asked as politely as he could.

The man held up his glowing hand to his face and gazed at it wonderingly. "Huh, would you look at that?" he said jokingly. With that same hand the man rubbed Sato's head playfully. "I'm dead but I'm not gone kid."

"But if you are dead then this…what we're doing is impossible."

"Dead men tell no tales? Is that what you mean son?" the man said, his voice still playful. "A few days ago you didn't believe that talking to Pokémon or teleporting through the air was possible. I would think your disbelief would be suspended by now Sato."

"_He's got a point Sato_" Growlithe said.

On that note a second ghostly figure appeared. It at first appeared to be a man like the first, though a much smaller man, almost a child, though when it became more clear it revealed itself to be a Machop.

"Late as always Machop?" the man teased.

"_Impatient as always Satoshi?_" the Pokémon returned.

"_Hey you're that Machop_" Growlithe realized. "_That quiet but confident Machop that Pikachu said was Ash's father's partner_."

"_That's me_" said Machop.

"_Well…aren't you supposed to be dead too?_"

"_That is not my fault. That bastard got me when my back was turned._"

"At least your head was still attached to your body when he was done with you" Satoshi said angrily, yet obviously sarcastically.

"_I almost wish he ended up above so I could challenge him to a rematch. The tables would be really turned in a fair fight._"

"Yeah. That would be something" Satoshi agreed. "Though it is a fitting end for him that he ended up down below."

"Down below?" the boy Sato repeated. His parents had no religion to bring up their children under so Sato had never learned much about theories of the afterlife.

"The fates of the wicked are drastically different than the fates of the just after death" his grandfather explained. "If you're just death isn't so bad actually, and what comes after it is better than you might think. If you're wicked death and its aftermath are worse than anything you can imagine."

"From how happy you look I'm guessing you're one of the just" Sato said. As he said this he realized just how not only pure, but how youthful and almost childlike the man's face was. "You look really young to be a grandfather."

"I was young when I died, barely an adult" he explained, sounding serious for the first time.

"Barely?"

"Yes. I had just turned 18. Your grandmother was still pregnant with your father, my only son. I never would've seen his face, if not for _this_."

"This?"

"This; what is happening right now, the reason I am talking to you despite the fact that my body is rotting away in the ground somewhere."

"And what would that be?"

"Aura, our Auras are linked. Even death is not powerful enough to break the bonds of two people's Auras, especially between family members. Even though you never met me our Auras are strong enough and close enough for this to happen, especially during this situation."

"What situation?"

Satoshi's pure, innocent smile did not vanish, but suddenly became somber and full of pity.

His grandfather explained, the words weighing one him heavily, "The first time I saw my son's face my father and his Houndour had succumbed to old age and I was allowed to use my bond to come to them and guide them to the next life, as all deceased Guardians are when one of their loved ones perishes. While they were still in the process of dying I used my bond with your father to make myself visible to him and speak to him briefly."

Sato's heart became a block of ice in his chest as his eyes engorged to the size of baseballs as he remembered his grandmother lying quietly on her bed. "Are you saying …" he nearly whispered, "…my grandma is...dying?"

Satoshi nodded solemnly. "She is dying much more slowly than my father did. It is worse in that she continues to suffer, and yet better in that I have been able to speak with you for this long" his grandfather explained.

"Wait my grandmother can't be dying!" Sato shouted urgently. "I mean, my dad's away, she's his mother. He won't get to say goodbye!"

"I'm truly sorry about that" Satoshi said earnestly. "This is beyond my control."

"But you're like a spirit aren't you? Can't you like fill her with new life or stall off her death until my dad gets back?" Sato begged.

"I'm dead I'm not a genie" Satoshi replied. "What you ask for is not possible. I'm sorry."

Sato began breathing heavily and looked at his feat.

Growlithe growled angrily and asked, "_So you just basically dropped in to say 'hey' and 'I'm taking your grandma away forever' then to leave?_"

"No I came so I could finally talk to one of my grandchildren. Sato's the only one who's unlocked his powers so he's the only one I could talk to. And it isn't my fault that Delia is dying! It would happen anyway" Sato retorted, sounding offended.

"_Well then why did you tell Sato this when this is Ash's mother who is dying? Doesn't he have a right to know?_"

"I would love nothing more than to be the one to tell my son this and finally have a conversation with him. The last time that appeared I said two words to him. But right now it is more important that I talk to Sato."

"Why?" Sato asked seriously.

Before an answer could come, a third human-like form began slowly materializing next to Satoshi.

"Time is short" Satoshi said. "Her death is almost complete. Sato my grandson, you must know, Ash has been defeated by Rayquaza."

"What?"

"He is not dead, not yet at least. Rayquaza has immobilized him and will kill him in seven days. You are the only one who can save him."

"What?" Sato yelled his voice full of fear and anguish. "Me? How?"

The form of Sato's grandmother became full and solid next to Satoshi.

"Time has come, goodbye grandson, I love you, your brother, your sister, your mother, and your father with all my heart" Satoshi said as his farewell.

Satoshi put his arm around his lost love as he said this.

"I have waited far too long to see your face again Delia" Satoshi said passionately.

"I have been looking forward to this moment every day we have had to wait" Delia returned.

The sight was strange to Sato for one simple reason. Delia's grey hair and the young form of Satoshi's spirit made their ages look generations apart even though they had been the same age when Satoshi was killed. Though as he wondered this, something bewildering happened; Satoshi transformed! His face turned more knowing and experienced and his hair became white. Though he was not the only one that changed; a small amount of lost youth and joy was restored to Delia's eyes. The two lovers became equal, the same.

Delia put her arm around Satoshi as well. "Goodbye Sato and Growlithe. I love you. Tell everyone that I love them too Sato" she said with a smile, she seemed quite content and accepting of her fate.

Arms around each other they turned and began to walk away. All Sato could do was stare in disbelief.

"Wait!" he begged. "Tell me how to stopped Rayquaza!" They did not turn.

Machop was still facing them. "_You must find out for yourself young one_" he said. He turned to Growlithe, "_Take good care of the kid Growlithe. That's our sacred duty as Pokémon Guardians._"

Machop turned around and followed his friends into the mysterious abyss.

Sato stared helplessly as the mysterious emptiness consumed his grandparents and with each step further they took from him the fog became denser and darker until it had completely clouded the young boy's vision and his mind became dazed. As his head continued to throb and pound like a drum he became aware that his legs had failed him. He was falling, but he did not hit the ground. It was almost as if a void had formed and had sucked him into its pull. He wondered if this was what death felt like. He wondered if he was dying.

Growlithe's wet tongue repeatedly licked Sato's face until his senses abruptly rushed back to him.

"_I thought you were never going to wake up_" the puppy said sounding relieved.

Sato slowly rose to his feet. He didn't remember lying down and falling asleep and yet he was on the ground and felt groggy.

"I had the strangest dream Growlithe" he said as he rubbed his eyes.

"_Was it the one where you grandfather ferried your grandmother's soul to the Great Beyond?_" Growlithe asked shortly.

"You had the same dream?" Sato asked bewildered.

"_I don't think it was a dream Sato_" said Growlithe. "_For one thing I don't remember being here before we passed out._"

At this indication Sato looked around his line of vision. He didn't see the wooden walls or furniture of his grandmother's bedroom. Rather he saw grassy fields extending endlessly for miles as they rose up and down into hills with a few trees studded around the landscape. The sensation of his ears popping told Sato that he must've been very high above the sea. The clouds hung much closer to the Earth than they normally cared to venture. He was on a mountain of some kind.

"Where are we?" Sato asked.

"_Heck if I know_" Growlithe replied. "_But when did you change clothes?_"

Sato looked down at his shirt as Growlithe said this. He was wearing clothes that looked exactly identical to the clothes his father wore and his grandfather was wearing in his apparent dream, the clothes of Sir Aaron.

"Where'd this come from?" Sato asked. "And how did we get here?"

"_If I had to guess it's your grandfather's doing_" Growlithe said.

"Really?"

"_He's dead and yet he talked to us. I'm not going to doubt his ability to do much else._"

"But what if that was just a dream?"

"_Do you have a better explanation for any of this?_"

"Well…no."

"_Then we'll stick with mine till we come up with a better one._"

A cool breeze blew through the mountains and massaged Sato's face gently. Its touch was refreshing on the hot summer day. He saw many pink blossoms gently fall through to air. He looked up and saw their source, a large sakura tree, and its cherry blossoms in full bloom. At the base of the tree he noticed a large stick protruding from the ground.

"Hey look at that" he said as he walked over to the carved stick that didn't look like it could have been left by accident. As he approached the stick he saw kanji ideograms inscribed onto it.

"_What does it say?_" Growlithe asked.

Sato read the words carefully. "Here lies Satoshi Tajiri, a Guardian of Aura and a wonderful friend and son" he said.

"_What?_"

Tajiri, that name was strange to Sato. He remembered when Mew called his father by that unknown name despite his last name being Ketchum. And Satoshi was his first name as well as the name of his departed grandfather. The name Tajiri had some connection with his father's past and this mysterious world he knew little about.

"This is my grandfather's grave" he said.

"_Really?_" Growlithe asked.

"Do you have a better explanation?" Sato said vengefully.

"_No. Do you still think this is some kind of coincidence?_"

"Not so much now."

Growlithe's ears suddenly shot up. "_Someone's coming_" he said urgently.

The sound of grass being subtly pressed down by a person's foot steps became louder and louder as someone approached. Sato and Growlithe turned to face the stranger but gasped when they saw him. He was an old man dressed in the garbs of Sir Aaron with a sword tied to his hip.

The man saw the child and Pokémon and looked confused. He pointed his index finger to them calmly and asked, "Who on Earth are you?"


	6. Introductions

For a while, Sato and Growlithe just stared at the old man, as if he was some strange sculpture that you had to look at closely for a while to know what it actually was. When it became apparent they weren't going to continue the conversation he spoke. "I believe I asked you who were, young man. It is quite impolite not to introduce yourself" he said. He didn't sound like a scolding old geezer, rather like a kind teacher patiently correcting his student's mistake.

Realizing he had been rude without meaning to Sato quickly bowed and said, "Oh, I apologize. My name is Sato…" He was about to say his last name 'Ketchum' but in the presence of this strange man who dressed like his father he felt the sudden urge to give the name 'Tajiri' as his, almost as if the name from his normal life would be rejected. However these strange events did not change the fact that he had called himself Ketchum all his thirteen years. "…Sato…Satoshi" he finished.

"Pleased to meet you young Satoshi," the man said with a polite bow. "I am Masao. I know it is not proper to invade other people's business but I must wonder if you have a family name."

With a nervous laugh Sato replied, "Well I could wonder the same thing about you."

A hearty laugh met Sato's remark as the man named Masao was clearly amused. "I suppose I am being a bit hypocritical. However I regret to tell you that I have long since forsaken my last name. I have found it not a proper fit. Is the story the same with you I wonder?"

"Not exactly," said Sato. "You see, my last name is Ketchum, but I don't know whether or not to introduce myself with it."

"Why not, if I may ask?"

"Well I have always called myself that and was pretty sure that was my last name, but ever since the start of today when all these strange things started happening with me and my dad, people have been throwing around the name 'Tajiri' when talking about me."

At this the old man took a pause. He gazed at Sato as if he was a long lost friend that he thought he would never see again, and that seeing him was so strange it had to be a dream.

"_Do you really think you should have told him that?_" asked Growlithe quietly. "_Isn't this stuff supposed to be a secret?_"

The man turned his head suddenly. "My, isn't that interesting?" Masao asked. "A talking Pokémon: that's not something you see every day."

"Growlithe!" Sato scolded.

"_I could have sworn I whispered that_" Growlithe replied with guilt.

"True but what whisper can escape the keen ears of a Guardian of Aura?" Masao asked proudly.

With this Sato's heart skipped a beat and silence again filled the air.

"Are you really that surprised?" Masao said as he again realized breaking the silence would be his responsibility. "You are of course a Guardian yourself; I'm shocked you're still able to consider anything unusual."

"W…what are you...?"

"There's no point trying to disguise it. Your Aura burns too brightly to be that of an ordinary human being. You are clearly much too powerful to be anything else."

That was by far the strangest sentence Sato had ever heard. The fact that he was identified as 'powerful' much less 'too powerful' made absolutely no sense to him.

"Oh I'm really not very powerful" he mumbled.

This shy statement seemed to impress Masao even further, as a kind grin stretched across his face. "So humble, it is impressive for a Guardian teenager; usually those of your age are the most arrogant creatures ever born and their swelled egos don't typically deflate until they reach my age. You are quite mature for a 13 year old."

"What?" Sato exclaimed. "How did you know my age?"

"By reading someone's Aura you can tell a lot about them. Yours feels as if it's been around for about 13 years. It was just a guess though. Most things you learn from reading an Aura are not incredibly precise. Intuition helps take you the rest of the way. Tell me young Satoshi can you use your senses to determine my age?"

This type of activity was fun to Sato's bookish mind; no matter how many other insecurities he had his intelligence was always something he was never in doubt of and always proud of. He figured he could guess the old man's age. He looked closely at Masao. He was no taller than 5 feet and he carried himself as if this short stature was not due to age but simply nature's design for him. He was not incredibly thin, but not stocky either. He did not look incredibly withered but his hair was entirely grey. He had green eyes that looked as if they were tired from knowing too many things and yet still had much light in them. His most notable feature was a long healed-over yet deep scar on his left wrist. The curve of the wound looked as if it had been made by a katana or a weapon of similar design. When Sato's eyes lingered over the scar Masao flexed his left hand effortlessly to show he still had complete mobility of it; it was nothing more than a cosmetic injury, even if it had once been something much more serious. He had obviously been through much in his long life, but not more than he could cope with.

"If I had to guess" Sato said. "You are somewhere in the neighborhood of 65."

Masao chuckled lightheartedly. "You flatter me young one" he said. "However your guess does fall short of the truth for you see I first opened my eyes and looked upon the world 117 years ago."

"What?" Sato nearly shouted. "You don't look nearly that old! W…wait a minute…if you were that old you would be the oldest person alive. How is that possible?"

"A strong Aura means a strong body" said Masao proudly. "Guardians of Aura have much longer lives and are weakened by age at a much slower pace than normal humans. Among other Guardians my age is quite normal. A Guardian's age isn't considered unusual until they pass their 200th birthday."

"Wow that's pretty cool" marveled Sato. "I could live to be 200 years old."

"You certainly could young Satoshi" said Masao. "The hand of age will be slow to snare its insidious grip on you. Not only that but few diseases actually stand a serious threat of cutting your life short, and the few that do are much easier for your powerful immune system to overcome than those of normal people. And of course there are few other things in this world that can kill you. In the old days the most common cause of the death of young Guardians was being killed in battle, and in these peaceful days that fate is unlikely to befall you."

Suddenly a sense of urgency struck Sato as the dire situation his father was in burst back into his head.

"These days are not so peaceful" he said quickly. "My father, another Guardian, has battled the mighty Rayquaza in order to save the world and lost. In 7 days he will be killed and he is helpless to save himself. Please help me save him!"

These words Sato spoke with more confidence than usual.

"What?" said Masao as he took all this in. "So…another Guardian has done battle, even in this modern day and age, in order to protect the world and has lost. So this is why we have been summoned to this strange spot, you, me…and the others…"

"Others?" Sato asked quickly. "What others?"

"First you must answer me one question Satoshi Tajiri" said Masao, suddenly turning very serious. "Your father, what is his name?"

Sato didn't know whether or not it was a good idea to answer this question but he did know that his father was in danger, and he couldn't save him without help, and this older, clearly more experienced Guardian might be able to help him. It was the only hope he had.

"My father's name is Ash Ketchum" he said. "He is also known as Ash Tajiri."

Suddenly, Masao removed his sword from his belt, still in its sheath. Sato flinched as he feared he was about to be attacked, but then Masao laid his sword on the ground and knelt on his hand and knees and bowed as low as possible.

"Behold you humble servant Masao, Lord Tajiri" he said.

"Lord?" Sato repeated totally flabbergasted.

"Of course, you are the heir of Sir Aaron. Your family is comprised of the direct descendants of the first Guardian of Aura who was ever born. The family of Tajiri is the noblest Guardian family that ever existed; since the beginning of our order your kin has ruled over and guided all others. The oldest member of your family, the inheriting son is known as our Shogun."

Sato knew from reading that Shogun was the title that used to be bestowed upon the ruler of Japan; it was not a title that was tossed around lightly.

"W…w…what?" stuttered Sato.

"I see your father has neglected to tell you this yet. I suppose he wished to keep your extraordinary humility intact. In that case, if we manage to save him and I meet him I will make a point of apologizing for this. Would you be more comfortable if I returned to calling you Satoshi?" he asked understandingly as he stood up.

"…Yeah I really would" Sato said. Being referred to as 'powerful' felt weird enough to him but being called a lord was downright ridiculous.

"I apologize for the unnecessary cordiality in that case" said Masao. "Now I will take you to the others. There are two other Guardians here who were teleported to this location by the same strange power as me. They are about the same age as you so when we heard someone else talking I told them to stay put while I investigated. Now hurry, time is of the essence!"

No other words were necessary, Sato followed as Masao led, trusting him was the only chance of saving his father's life that he had. He did not have to follow long; the others were not far away, sitting quietly in the shadow of a boulder less than half a mile away.

Masao's description of their ages was accurate; if either of them was older than Sato it was impossible to tell by looking at them. Their looks did not lie; both of them were in their thirteenth year of life. They both also wore the garbs of a Guardian of Aura and had swords.

One of them was a young man like Sato. He was even taller than Sato though and had broader shoulders. However his most apparent difference from Sato was that he was clearly not of Japanese descent despite having a Japanese sword attached to his hip. His eyes, hair and skin, were all dark brown. He appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent of some kind. He looked over at Sato very curiously.

The other young Guardian was a girl. She was about average height for her age and was fairly thin. She clearly also wasn't born in the Land of the Rising Sun, at least as far as Sato could tell. Her hair was a bright shade of blonde, her eyes were the color of the ocean, and her complexion mirrored that of someone of European decent, though there appeared to be some quality of her hidden beneath the surface. Despite his worry about his father, Sato couldn't help but notice she was quite attractive. When he noticed her staring angrily at him he turned his gaze away, but somehow he had a feeling that wasn't what she was mad about.

"A third one joins us young ones!" said Masao. "Well no need to be rude, introduce yourselves!"

The other young man stood up and bowed politely. Even if he wasn't born in this land, it was apparent he knew its customs well. "My name is Gabir" he said with a slight Arabic accent. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Sato returned his bow. "The pleasure is mine" he replied. He then turned to the girl and expected her to stand and introduce herself. She merely turned her head away.

"In this country it is considered extremely rude not to introduce yourself young lady" said Masao, who was clearly Japanese himself. Sato had a feeling that Masao already knew her name but was not going to enable her to skip out on this formality. "I was under the impression that everyone here spoke English but if you only can speak your native tongue we can use telepathy."

"I speak English" she said sharply, with a tiny hint of a French accent. "I do not appreciate being talked to like a child you old windbag."

"If I am not mistaken you are a child" Masao replied patiently, paying no heed to the insult she paid him. "But I apologize if I sounded condescending. I merely did not want you to offend our young guest here." It seemed he also wasn't going to introduce Sato himself.

The girl continued to scowl at him but nevertheless sharply turned her head to Sato. He suddenly jumped as if he thought he gaze would cause his head to explode. Upon seeing this she scoffed but still said, "My name is Elita."

"Nice to meet you" Sato said nervously with a bow. Elita simply turned her head away. Sato blushed, feeling very embarrassed that he had bowed.

"Well I suppose no one is left but you" Masao said placing a hand on Sato's back.

"Oh yeah" Sato said. "Um…my name is Satoshi…but you can call me Sato."

With this Elita suddenly became interested, the bored, angry look she previously had on her face turning into focused curiosity. "Satoshi, that's a name well known among the Guardians of Aura isn't it?" she asked with determination in her voice.

"Uh yeah it is…" Sato replied. Elita continued to stare intently at him so he felt he had to say more. "Um that's more than I can say about you guys. No offense, I don't mean to sound bigoted at all, but I thought that all Guardians of Aura were Japanese."

"As the river of time flows on there are few things that do not change" Masao said.

"But one thing doesn't change in the history of our order" Elita said. "The name Satoshi keeps appearing in the First Family; the family that is descended of Sir Aaron; the family of Tajiri. Is that your family, Sato?" She said 'Sato' as if shortening the name that held so much special meaning was a joke of some kind.

Sato was still confused by this whole affair but decided no longer to fight this strange name that had crept into his life.

"It is" he answered.

As if those were the magic words, Elita sprang forward like a ravenous cheetah that had spotted its prey. In an instant her sword was out of its sheath and she had grabbed Sato by the tunic and pinned him against the boulder that had been the source of shade. She held her sword straight against Sato's neck.

"What are you doing?" Gabir asked.

"DIE!" she shouted angrily, not hearing him.

Quick as flash, Growlithe raced over and latched his jaws onto Elita's leg. For some reason his teeth did not break her flesh, an invisible force appeared to stop him from being able to do so but regardless, he used all his might to drag her away.

"Back off you stupid beast!" she shouted as she kicked Growlithe with her other leg, forcing him to let go and be drawn back. She then swung her sword around, aiming to cleave off Sato's head.

Masao quickly raised his hand and a wall of blue light appeared between Sato and Elita's blade. As the sword struck it, it bounced off like a rubber ball.

"Now it is one thing not to introduce yourself, but to try to kill someone you have just met is extremely rude Elita" Masao said.

"Let the shield down you old bastard!" Elita demanded.

"I will not" he said firmly. "He is the heir of Sir Aaron and even if he wasn't allowing you to take his life would be wrong."

Elita ran at Masao, her blade raised and swung wildly at his head. In the next instant her sword was on the ground no less than ten feet away from them. The movement Masao had used to disarm her was so fast and subtle that no one else had seen it.

"I have over a century more experience than you child" Masao reminded. "You can hack away at me until you collapse from exhaustion and not a single drop of my blood will be seen."

Quickly Elita aimed a kick for Masao's nose, a kick of the most precise technique and skill. He merely stepped back and it missed and then she then threw multiple punches and kicks at him of nearly invisible speed. He dodged all of them with what appeared to be the absolute least effort. His sword remained comfortably in its sheath, being totally unneeded.

With an angry yell Elita turned back to Sato and in her hand charged a large sphere of blue light, an Aura Sphere. She hurled it at him. When it collided with Masao's shield it exploded. Sato had covered his head and was trembling but there was no need; the shield had completely absorbed the impact without being damaged.

"Do not fear" Masao told him. "Your life is in no danger."

"Lower the shield!" Elita hollered. "He has to die!"

"Why?" asked Gabir.

"Yes" Masao said calmly. "Why does one as young as you wish to commit the act of murder?"

"Vengeance!" Elita shouted. "I have to kill him for revenge!"

"What could he have possibly done to you to warrant such hatred?"

"It's not just him, his entire family is and will always be my mortal enemies!" Elita said. "I have to kill him because his father killed mine!"


	7. Hope

A deadly silence fell as these words rang from Elita's mouth. Everyone except Masao and seemed frozen in shock of this accusation.

Sato was the most stricken by this outburst. He had learned a great many things about his father lately but this, if it was true, was the most shocking thing about these strange happenings. He was hesitant to believe it.

"What…what are you talking about?" Sato asked, still afraid and trapped behind Masao's shield.

"Don't play stupid!" shouted Elita, sounding offended. "Your father, Ash Ketchum, is a murderer who stole _my_ father from me!"

"What?" was the only reply Sato could muster.

"Oh please, don't tell me your father hasn't boasted to you over his crime!" she said.

"I honestly have no idea what you are talking about" Sato said trying to remain as calm as possible.

Elita ran to straight up to Sato and leaned her eyes as closely to the shield as she could, with a glare full of hatred. "Don't lie to Elita Yoshiro" she said deathly.

_Yoshiro?_ Sato thought. _That's a Japanese name. I thought she was French. Wait a minute…why is that name familiar?_

Suddenly the memories of the few things that Ash had told Sato of this world shot back into his head and he remembered the name of the leader of the evil Guardian of Aura who had once tried to destroy part of the world and rule the rest of it. The name Tanaka Yoshiro entered his mind.

"Tanaka Yoshiro" he said, thinking out loud.

"Now you remember" Elita said angrily. "My father was trying to rebuild the world, to make it perfect, and your father, a traitor to our order, murdered him."

Masao interjected suddenly, "Tanaka was going to destroy the world, not save it."

The anger in Elita's face was magnified easily 100 fold.

"DON'T SAY A WORD AGAINST MY FATHER!" she shrieked.

Masao remained calm but focused. "How can Tanaka be your father?" he asked coolly. "He died 25 years ago and you're no older than 13 and he was never known to have any children. Also, I once again mean no offense, but you do not seem to resemble him at all."

The anger stayed on Elita's face but she remained calm this time. "Examine my Aura and remove all doubt then old man" she said.

Masao closed his eyes and began to breathe very deeply. He seemed incredibly focused as his senses probed the mysterious girl's being.

"You seem to take more after you mother but there is Tanaka in you. Your Aura does feel quite similar to his, so similar it is impossible for you to be anything besides his child. However, this does not answer the question of how Tanaka produced a daughter 12 years after he died" Masao said after a few minutes.

"Answer that question yourself since you know so much you old geezer" said Elita defiantly. "I am not here to discuss my past. All I am here to do is avenge my father."

"Well at any rate you are going about it the wrong way" Gabir said, after having remained silent this whole time. "His father killed Tanaka not him. Sato didn't do anything to you." He sounded like he was confused that she was making this mistake.

"The son of my enemy is good enough revenge for me" Elita retorted. "His father will suffer much more if I tell him that I killed his son before I kill him."

"That is a very cruel thing to do" Gabir replied, sounding shocked.

"Shut up!" snapped Elita. "That Tajiri bastard killed my father! What the hell do you know about this?"

"Well both of my parents were killed when I was very young" he explained calmly. "I would never want to do something like this to anyone though."

"Well then you are too weak to wear that sword!" shouted Elita. Gabir didn't seem to take the insult to heart; he didn't react to it at all. "But I am strong! I am going to claim my revenge and I will cut down anyone who stands in my way!"

Masao spoke, "I am sorry but neither of those things will happen. You have already seen for yourself that my skill as a warrior fair exceeds yours. You will not be claiming your revenge or hurting anyone else today."

"Then I will die trying!" she said.

"Apologies again, but I have no intention of killing a young girl. I have seen too much blood throughout the course of my life and have rather developed distaste for it" said Masao.

"You cruel, old relic!" shouted Elita. "First you take away my revenge, now you deny me the honorable death of a warrior!"

"There is more honor to be found in life dear one, and revenge is not as fulfilling as you might believe" he replied.

"Shut up!"

"W…wait a minute" Sato said, suddenly speaking. "My dad didn't kill yours."

"What did you say?" said Elita direly, as if just that sentence alone was good enough reason to slice his head off.

She leaned in closely, looking straight into his eyes with her murderous blue ones.

"My…d…dad said he didn't kill Tanaka. He said he fought him and won…but that he didn't kill him" Sato said nervously.

"If your father indeed spoke those words, then he is as much a liar as he is a murderer" Elita nearly whispered, her voice full of malice.

With this a small pang of ire was born in Sato's heart. He was merely confused with her actions up till now but now hearing her insult his father caused him anger. He always had trouble mustering the courage to stand up for himself, but hearing a member of his family mocked caused him much more anger.

"…My dad isn't a murderer…and he wouldn't lie to me about that!" he said, his voice filled with more courage than normal.

"What did you say?" spat Elita, as if not only the denial but the fact that Sato had dared assert himself rather than cowering like he had before had deeply insulted and infuriated her.

"…You heard me. My dad didn't kill him."

"Lies; your father is a murderer."

"No he isn't."

"Then why isn't my father alive? Answer me that!"

Masao interrupted before Sato could attempt to. "Yes I would like to know that too" he said, not sounding judgmental or as if he didn't believe Sato, but curious. "Tanaka died during his attempt to take over the world, after his duel with your father. If your father didn't kill him, how did he die?"

"I…" Sato started hesitantly as Elita continued to pierce him with her gaze. "I…don't know. He didn't tell me how he died."

Elita chuckled victoriously as she heard Sato say this, as if she now realized his denial was nothing more than a childish fantasy. "How convenient" she said. "Your father lied to you _Sato_. He probably just wanted you to think of him as perfect in every way, a hero but a non-killer despite the fact that he is neither of these things." She again spoke Sato's nickname as if saying it was a joke, as if he himself was a joke.

"My dad wouldn't lie to me" Sato insisted. These words were sadly half-hearted though, as if he was trying to convince himself more than her. Today he found out how little he really knew about his father. For all he knew he did kill Tanaka and decided not to tell him for whatever reason, either to hide the truth for him so he wouldn't look at his father as a murderer, or to keep some vastly important secret. All he had was his word to go on. He did know one thing for sure though, he could never believe that his father was an evil, murdering liar. If he killed Tanaka he must have had a good reason and an equally good reason for hiding it. But still, he didn't believe his father had lied. It was a passing thought when he told him he didn't kill Tanaka, like a casual fact as if he had told him what the weather was like during their battle. He didn't seem to put enough effort or emotion into saying it for it to be a lie. Not only that, but his father had never lied to him about his past as far as he had known. He just never told him about it at all, until he was old enough. He knew his father as an honest man and a terrible liar. He had figured out a great number of birthday presents in his youth from simply asking Ash about them and watching his defenses fall apart. He decided he wouldn't believe that his father killed Tanaka until he received indisputable evidence otherwise. Elita's only response to his renunciation was merely to laugh.

"I believe you" said Masao after a long silence. "You seem to truly believe that your father did not end Tanaka. You have an honest heart, so I believe your father's is too. Though I am curious, if Ash did not kill Tanaka, then who or what did?"

"If you truly believe him than you are the naïve child here, not me" Elita scoffed.

"Perhaps we subscribe to different definitions of naïve" replied Masao, unfazed. "To me, someone who is two cynical and angry to see the honesty and purity within another's heart is quite naïve."

Elita merely scoffed once more, almost amused by the apparent ridiculousness of that sentence. "It doesn't matter what you say" she said. "My father died by his father's hand and my sword will taste revenge."

Masao sighed wearily. "So much anger in someone so young; it is nothing shy of a tragedy" he said.

"I do not need or want your pity old man" she replied as she walked over to where she had dropped her sword and picked it up. "I must say I am quite sick of all you, especially you Tajiri." She pointed her sword at Sato. "Cowering and trembling, while you must rely on an old man to protect you. Your father may be a murderer and the only man who was ever born who could possibly hold his own against mine but you are quite the pathetic specimen of a Guardian aren't you?" These words burned Sato. Only now did he realize how much he must have looked like a coward. He was totally defenseless and at Elita's mercy the entire time. If not for Growlithe and Masao he would certainly be dead.

"_Stop insulting him!_" Growlithe shouted.

All eyes were suddenly moved to Growlithe.

"A talking Pokémon!" exclaimed Gabir.

"What insanity is this?" asked Elita.

"What's so weird about it?" asked Sato timidly, still recovering from Elita's insults. "Talking Pokémon always fought alongside the Guardians of Aura. Each Guardian had one Pokémon that was their partner that they had a nearly symbiotic bond with. They were considered just as much Guardians as the humans weren't they?" He was recalling knowledge from books he had read of the Guardian's exploits.

"In the old days, before the Guardians' Final War" Masao explained. "That was always true in those days. It remained true during the War but not for every Guardian. The True Guardians, who fought on the side of the Allies, against Tanaka, preserved the old ways but the servants of Tanaka, the Prophets relinquished the tradition of Pokémon partners. Tanaka had always hated Pokémon since he was a child. He did not see their value. Not only that, but he feared the sense of a separate identity that having a partner gave a Guardian. Rather than Guardians existing in pairs, pairs that were distinguishable from the rest of the order he made all Guardians on his side one homogenous group all completely loyal to him."

Elita smiled. "My father was a brilliant man" she said happily.

"_Brilliant? Not the word I would have chosen_" said Growlithe.

"DON'T INSULT MY FATHER!" Elita hollered, aiming a kick for Growlithe's face. A blue light incased her leg, stopping her just short of her target. Masao had her in a telekinetic hold. After Growlithe stepped back he released her.

"This is getting us nowhere" Masao said. "While we bicker amongst ourselves an ancient, dire prophesy has come to be, one that only the Guardians can prevent. Rayquaza has descended from his throne in the sky and is poised to destroy the world. Satoshi's father has already risked his life to prevent this horrible outcome. Without him we are the world's only hope."

"He's dead?" said Elita quickly, fearing her revenge had become impossible.

"No" said Masao. "Rayquaza will not kill anyone for seven days as told by the prophecy. He has merely been incapacitated until that time, correct Satoshi?"

"Yes" Sato confirmed. "He has been immobilized."

"If Rayquaza has indeed done this to the man who defeated Tanaka Yoshiro, the most powerful of the Prophets, then I cannot stop him by myself, as experienced as I am" Masao said grimly. "It will require all of us to save the world and Satoshi's father."

"I'll help" Gabir said almost instantly. "I lost my parents. I know how it feels. I can't let that happen to someone else."

Sato was surprised by the quickness of this response. He figured Gabir must have been very courageous and selfless to agree to help someone he had just met in such a way. "Thank you" he said. Gabir smiled and nodded.

"What about you? Will you put your anger aside for the fate of the world?" Masao asked Elita.

"My family stopped protecting the world when it turned our back on us" Elita said. "Those people you care so much about saving used us to fight their war, then let us all die in it, and now act as if we never existed. Their fate is no concern of mine and as for Tajiri, why would I risk my life to save the man I have devoted my life to killing?"

Masao replied, "And what of your fate? You are human; Rayquaza will kill you too."

"I'll survive" she said. "And even if I don't it's better to die with honor than protecting my enemies."

"And what about your revenge young one?" Masao asked cleverly.

"What about it?"

"If Rayquaza kills Ash that means you can't. The goal you so desperately wish to fulfill will become unachievable. Are you really going to let your revenge be stolen from you?"

Elita's eyes became the size of baseballs. She clearly had no way to shove aside that point, a fact that caused her much annoyance.

With a heavy sigh she admitted, "I must be the one to kill Ash Ketchum. I cannot let Rayquaza rob me of that right. All right, I will help you stop Rayquaza from killing Ash…_but_ the second our battle with him his over my battle with Ash and with _you_ (she pointed her sword at Sato) will resume and you both will die."

Masao merely chuckled quietly. "Does that mean I can put the shield down now?" he asked.

"I am a woman of honor" she replied. "If we must begrudgingly be on the same side for this particular battle then I will not try to kill him until it is over."

Masao lowered his shield of Aura from Sato and to everyone's great surprise Elita let Sato be. Sato scrambled to move from the rock and practically tripped on his own legs

"Look how his legs fold underneath him like a lawn chair" jeered Elita. "What a weakling!"

Miles away, Misty stood at the door of Ash's mother's house. Delia's body had just been taken and Misty was quietly crying, wondering where her son had disappeared to and wishing her husband was there. Suddenly a yellow blur shot out from the horizon and sped quickly up to the doorstep. Pikachu had returned from the battle, alone and panting.

"Pikachu!" Misty exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Where's Ash?"

"_We…lost…the battle_" Pikachu said between gasps of breath.

"What?" Misty, cried, her tears pouring like a waterfall. "Is Ash…is he...?"

"_No he's still alive_" Pikachu answered as he finally managed to catch his breath. "_Rayquaza froze him with his Ice Beam and is going to make an example of him in seven days by killing him first in front of the whole world._"

"And you just left him there?" Misty said more frightened than mad.

"_I had to!_" Pikachu insisted remorsefully. "_If Rayquaza had frozen both of us there wouldn't be any chance for us to stop him. I didn't want to leave him! He made me!_"

"Ok I'm sorry Pikachu" Misty apologized, remembering that Pikachu was the only one on earth who loved Ash as much as she did. "But what are we going to do now? We have to help him somehow!"

"_Where's Sato?_" asked Pikachu.

"What?" Misty replied fearfully. "How is he supposed to help? He's just a child."

"_He is a Guardian of Aura. He might be our only hope_."

"Ash hasn't taught him to use his powers yet! If he tries to fight Rayquaza he'll die!"

"_If we don't stop Rayquaza he'll kill every human on the planet and Sato will die anyway! At least if we give him a fair chance to fight there's a chance for him and everyone else to live. Where is he?_"

"I…" Misty began, but then started sobbing. "I don't know! He disappeared!"

"_What?_" Pikachu shouted.

"Ash's mother…passed away…and then he just vanished" Misty explained.

"_Wait, Ash's mother is de…_ (he suddenly noticed all the sadness and despair in Misty's face)…_gone?_" Pikachu asked. Misty nodded. "_That is terrible, unbelievably terrible, and that it had to happen now. Ash didn't even get to say goodbye._" Misty nodded and continued crying. "_I wish I had more time to mourn but I don't. Lives are at stake. What do you mean Sato vanished?_"

"After Delia…d…d…" Misty said, trying to force herself to speak the next word but finding the strength to elusive. "…died…a blue light surrounded Sato for a few minutes and then the next thing I knew he was gone."

"_A blue light?_" Pikachu repeated. He paused and looked down. He smiled as what he heard sunk in. "_…There is hope. There is hope! THERE IS HOPE!_" he shouted as he was positively beaming with joy.

"There is?"

"_Yes don't you see? The Tree of Beginning summoned him! I don't know where and I don't know why but I do know it has a purpose for him and I'll bet anything this purpose involves protecting the world and if the Tree is working to find a way to save the world then the world will be saved._"

"How?"

"_I'm not sure. Maybe the Tree will make Sato powerful enough to help us, though that doesn't sound like something it would do, or maybe, just maybe, Ash and I aren't as alone in this world as we thought we were._"

"You think there might be other Guardians that the Tree summoned Sato to join?"

"_Maybe, I don't know though, I just know that if the Tree is helping us we have hope. I'm going to find Sato, and hopefully I will find that hope as well._"

Misty wiped the tears from her eyes. No matter how worried she was about her husband and son she knew that they were the world's best chance. "Good luck Pikachu" she bade.

"_If Sato's summoning means what I think it means then I might not need it, but thank you Misty_" said Pikachu as he turned around to leave. He then stopped suddenly as he was about to run and turned to face Misty. "…_About Ash's mother…_"

"I know" she said, picking Pikachu up and holding him in her arms. "I feel the same way. I'll miss her too." She hugged Pikachu tightly. He hugged back as best he could with his diminutive forepaws. "I love you Pikachu" she said as she put him down.

"_I love you too Misty_" he said. "_I'm going to find Sato and we are going to set Ash free and together we will keep everyone safe. I promise._"

"I know you'll keep that promise" Misty said, smiling for the first time in a while. "Please, take care of them but don't forget to take care of yourself."

"_Don't worry about a thing Misty_" he replied. "_Everything will be fine. I'll make sure of it._"

With that Pikachu dashed off at a speed that made the fastest non-Guardian Pokémon that was ever born seem sluggish, relying on his keen sense of smell, and his keen ability to sense Auras to find Sato.

"Be safe" Misty quietly prayed.

"_There is hope!_" Pikachu cheered as he ran. "_THERE IS HOPE!_"


	8. The Start of a Quest

"Well this is interesting" Sato said as he looked at the object in his hands. It was the staff of Sir Aaron. Apparently it had been leaning on the tree that overlooked his grandfather's grave and he had not noticed it. Masao had and thus pointed it out to him after the shaky alliance with Elita had been formed. "My dad took this with him when he fought Rayquaza. I guess my grandpa brought it with me when he brought me here."

"Your grandfather brought you here?" asked Masao.

"Yes. When my grandma was…dying…my grandpa's spirit appeared to me as he guided her to the afterlife. He spoke to me for a while and told me what had happened to my dad. It was kind of like I was in a dream. When I woke up I was by his grave where you found me" Sato explained.

"I see" said Masao. "The spirits of deceased Guardians were often known to do mysterious things such as this, at least according to legend. Perhaps your grandfather summoned us all here when your grandmother's passing strengthened his bond to the Living World. Oh and by the way, my deepest condolences for you and your family over the passing of your grandmother Satoshi." He bowed.

"Thank you" said Sato.

"I'm really sorry about your grandma too" said Gabir. It sounded as if he truly couldn't be any more sorry and sympathetic.

"Thank you" Sato said again. He was doing his best not to linger over the thought now. While there was something else to focus on he had a reason to not be overwhelmed by his grief. Since his father had lost his mother and didn't even realize it yet he didn't feel like he had much of a right to feel his own grief when he had been able to be with her in her last moments.

"Hmph" scoffed Elita. "One less member of your family that _I _have to kill."

Sato was rendered speechless by the cruelty of these words. All he could do was stare at her, mouth agape as if he expected her to realize how horrible they were and to apologize. She however said nothing. Clearly the fact that she agreed to be temporary allies with him did not mean she agreed to be nice to him.

"_Why you…_" Growlithe began angrily.

"Save your breath" Masao said. "There is no point attempting to make her feel remorse for her words. It is futile."

Elita seemed amused by this. "So have you given up trying to make me behave like a proper young lady?" she boasted.

"You could say that" Masao replied. "Reading your Aura revealed…_much _to me about you." Elita's eyebrow raised at the emphasis on the word _much_, wondering exactly what he meant. "At any rate" he continued. "We have more important things to worry about. Now I am not strong enough to stop Rayquaza by myself which in it of itself is a severe problem but to be honest, and I mean no offense by this, none of you are yet strong enough to offer enough assistance to turn the tide of the battle. It is not your fault, you cannot help your youth, but that doesn't change the fact that the gap between our strength and the strength of Rayquaza is large enough to create a severe obstacle."

Again another scoff came from Elita as she heard this. "I have plenty of strength you old fossil" she said, shrugging his remark off.

"Indeed you do" Masao agreed. "Your Aura showed that to me. Next to me you are the most powerful member of this group. However your strength stills fall short of mine by a significant margin and my power is insufficient for our needs."

Elita merely turned her head away. Apparently out of some vain desire to reclaim pride in her strength she said, "My power is the best we are going to get old man. He has a decent bit of strength, (she pointed to Gabir), but it is still nothing compared to mine. Tajiri's pet (she pointed to Growlithe) is fairly strong compared to other Pokémon, but cannot hold a candle to Rayquaza. As for Tajiri himself he is pathetic and weak by all standards. He might as well be an ordinary human." Sato's cheeks became the color of ripe tomatoes when he heard this.

"Not the way I would have put it" Masao said. "But your assessment of their abilities is somewhat accurate. Gabir's power is about normal for his age, Growlithe seems slightly above the average strength of a normal Growlithe and Satoshi appears to have received the least training of the four of you."

At that moment all eyes turned to Sato, save for Growlithe's as if everyone expected to explain himself. Shyly and still blushing he said, "Well I just got my powers today. I didn't even know Guardians of Aura were real until today…I don't know how to use my powers."

Silence filled the air as these words were spoken for what seemed like hours but couldn't have been more than a few minutes.

"Pathetic!" cried Elita. "He will be totally useless to us!"

"_I told you to stop insulting him!_" Growlithe shouted.

"She's right Growlithe" Sato said sadly.

"_What?_" Growlithe asked, sounding confused and angry at the fact that he had agreed with her.

"I won't be any help" Sato admitted. "What can I do?"

"Well at least you aren't in denial about what you are Tajiri" Elita said with an arrogant smirk. "A coward is somewhat less annoying when he doesn't pretend to be a knight."

"_Will you shut up!_" Growlithe barked.

"That pet of yours is getting rather annoying. Perhaps he'd be more pleasant if I made him into a coat."

"This isn't helping" Masao interrupted. "We have seven days until Rayquaza destroys the world. We need to prepare."

"Seven days isn't a lot of time" Gabir said.

"In the scope of training to become stronger it is literally no time at all" Elita said. "Especially in Tajiri's case; even if he trained for a thousand years he'd still be a pathetic weakling." Growlithe growled angrily at her. "If we are not strong enough to stop Rayquaza now then we won't be when he comes. The world is doomed no matter what from the sound of it."

"Well as much as I hate to agree with such a bleak outlook there is truth in what you say" Masao said. "I can sense much talent in all of you; if we had years to train you would all have the potential to become strong enough to accomplish our mission single-handedly. Unfortunately the fact remains that if we trained as hard as possible all day every day for the short week that we have, it would not make much difference. It at least wouldn't make enough difference."

"Then it is hopeless" Elita said, sounding almost happy at that fact.

"I might agree with you if something as ridiculous as hopelessness existed, young one" said Masao. "Our power alone may be inadequate but the source of our power is a different story entirely."

"What do you mean?" asked Sato.

"In times of crisis such as this the Guardians typically turned to the Tree of Beginning for answers" answered Masao. "There are ways that it can help."

"There are…?" Sato began before being interrupted.

"Calling the Tree the source of our power is a gross misstatement old man" cut in Elita. "It merely awakened the power within us.

"Calling it a "gross misstatement" is a bit of an exaggeration for the Tree has more power than any of us can fathom but your correction is still accurate. A better rephrase is the catalyst of our power. The Tree awakened the strength within our own souls but its power is not limited only to that. For example it once ended a war that threatened to destroy Cameron Palace, the home of Sir Aaron" said Masao.

"So you propose that instead of fighting that dragon we should go to the Tree and pray for it to save us?" Elita asked as if the idea was ridiculous.

"We may still yet do battle with Rayquaza but if we do it as we are now we will all certainly be killed and accomplish nothing" Masao said. "We are more likely to find a productive course of action if we seek the counsel of the Tree and of Mew."

"What will the Tree do to help us?" Sato asked.

"Hard to say" Masao replied. "What it chooses to do with its power is very unpredictable. It always acts in what it believes to be the best interest of the world. It could do anything. It could possibly make us powerful enough to win the battle. It could use its power to destroy or otherwise incapacitate Rayquaza or, and I think this is most likely, it will create a solution that is both stranger and better than any we could come up with."

Sato felt as if a weight was lifted from his heart; now it wasn't solely up to him to save his father. Now he had help and hope.

"You are forgetting one crucial detail old man" Elita cut in. "How are we supposed to get to the Tree? None of us even know where the hell we are. Tajiri's damned grandfather brought us here!"

"You have the mouth of a sailor young lady" Masao said, obviously still slightly annoyed by her impoliteness. "There is no need. The solution to that problem is an easy one." With that the old Guardian closed his eyes and entered a state of deep focus. He used his Aura sense to probe the entire surrounding area, using the physical vibrations of the objects around him to discern their shape without his eyes and using the Auras of the living creatures to see them. As his mind moved throughout the land he searched for something that would indicate their location. "We are in the mountains in the southwest part of the Kanto region of Japan. We are currently atop a mountain that makes up the range that is completed by Mount Moon near Pewter City. The lesser mountain that we find ourselves on overlooks a place I believe to be named Pallet Town."

"Pallet Town?" Sato repeated. "Are you sure? That's my hometown."

"That fact is not so hard to believe given that your grandfather is most likely the one who brought us here and that he brought us to his grave" said Masao.

"I guess it does make sense" said Sato.

"Much sense" said Masao. "And it is also fortunate. We are not far from the Tree of Beginning. It is within walking distance; a journey of 6 days, maybe 5 or 4 if we move with great haste. This mountain range leads directly to it. We can walk directly from here to the Tree without leaving the hills."

"Walk?" Sato asked. "Wouldn't it be much faster if we just went down to the town and got a ride? My mom could probably drive us there." As he said this Sato laughed at the ridiculous nature of this idea; the thought of asking his mother to drive him, and old man and two foreigners to a mystical place on a life or death mission to save the world certainly sounded amusing.

Masao took a weary breath at this and for the first time how old he was became very apparent. His face seemed tired as he answered, "Well we could do that. There is truth that using a vehicle would probably be faster; it may even reduce our journey to that of a single day. However I'd prefer to avoid being exposed to the public. Long have the few surviving Guardians been hidden from the rest of the world. Your father's battle with Rayquaza will have already caused a worldwide uproar. In the days of old, knowledge of the exploits of the Guardians could be confined to our little island country but in these days of mass communication that is impossible. The world will have watched the battle with Rayquaza and the world knows that the Guardians of Aura still exist. If we return to the town and risk exposure there is no telling what could happen. It is however certain that the media, crowds, and law enforcement will not leave us alone or allow us to move of our own accord."

"We could try to move in secret" suggested Sato.

"We could try but I doubt that would make moving quickly possible, especially given the fact that your suggestion is to seek help in Pallet Town. I am sure that by now your father has been identified by those who saw his battle. That would mean the authorities know where his home is. It is also likely that your mother has alerted them to the fact that you are missing or will by the time we reach your home. If they find out about us and our mission they will interfere."

"Why?"

"Well either they will think it is not our place, but theirs to stop Rayquaza and will try to stop us or will try to control how we go about doing it and though they can force us to do nothing they would be likely to succeed in delaying us, besides, there are other issues that would be entailed in exposing me to the public."

" Like what?"

"Well according to the government I have been dead for several decades, being a casualty of the Second World War. The legal ramifications of reviving me from the dead would likely take more than a week to sort out."

"Everyone thinks you're dead?" Sato asked, confused.

Masao took a pause as he heard this question as if he did not want to take a misstep with his answer. After a moment of delay he said with a troubled smile, "Yes I have leaded quite the exciting life but I doubt you wish to hear an old man ramble on about his past."

Sato was actually quite curious about what the old man had said and thought he would be interested to hear more. But he also decided that if Masao was comfortable talking about his past then he wouldn't be attempting to avoid doing so. He decided to leave well enough alone. "Yes I suppose I don't." Masao seemed relieved by this answer.

After he said this Sato became aware that Growlithe was growling in a very low register. He looked down and noticed a very serious look on the dog's face. "_I don't know if this is a good idea Sato_" he said in a harsh whisper. "_We don't even know this guy and now he's avoiding telling us who he is. What makes you think we can trust him?_"

"I can hear you" Masao said. Growlithe looked bemused as he said this. "It is possible to hide a telepathic conversation from everyone but the person you wish to speak with you know. You simply need to focus on that person's Aura intensely and ignore all other Auras in the general vicinity. In response to your concerns, yes, I suppose I was naïve for hoping you would not notice but I do not wish to discuss my past. I cannot blame you if this means you will not trust me. I do not pretend to be better than what I am. If you refuse to have me as your escort I will accept your choice."

Sato was taken aback by Masao's sudden plaintiveness. He sounded completely convinced that they would not trust him. He also found it odd that he explained to Growlithe how to hide future conversations from him. He feared that he was being naïve but something about this man's resignation made him seem trustworthy despite his secretiveness.

"Growlithe" Sato said. "I'm not totally sure we can trust him but I do know he did save my life today and my dad is going to die if we don't do something. We need help from someone so we _have _to trust him. It's my dad's only hope." Growlithe nodded in reluctant agreement.

Suddenly a curt laugh came from Elita. "That's funny Tajiri" she said. "Your dad's only hope you say? Your father has no hope. One we come face to face he will die. By making this alliance you've only chosen a different assassin for your father."

Growlithe turned to her. "_Good luck doing that with Masao around_" he said proudly. Masao smiled at this comment.

Elita merely scowled and said "Pets are so annoying."

With that they set off, Masao leading the way, walking the mountainous path that would take them to the Tree of Beginning, to hope. They trudged on for hours, seemingly in a straight line and the path they walked did not seem to change for the longest time. The grassy landscape seemed to go on forever. No one spoke for the longest time. Sato might have talked to Masao if he could think of anything to ask him that wouldn't involve his past and he didn't know what to make of Gabir. He seemed nice enough and yet strange at the same time. He also had a feeling that anything he might say would trigger another vulgar or incredibly insulting response from Elita and thought that the others shared in this sentiment which is why they weren't talking.

Elita confused him quite a bit. She hated him that was certain, or rather she hated his father so much that it overflowed to him. She seemed somewhat apathetic to Sato himself as if she wouldn't think that he would be worth acknowledging at all if he wasn't Ash's son and she seemed as if it angered her that she was forced to pay attention to him. It almost seemed as if that was the real reason that she hated Sato personally, not because he was her enemy's son but because he was a creature that was utterly beneath her one whose existence that she wished to ignore and yet one that she had to acknowledge. It seemed as though that was why she resented Sato.

Being around her made Sato feel five inches tall; she made him realize he was weak in every sense of the word. They were basically the same age and both Guardians of Aura and yet if not for Masao she would have easily slaughtered him. Every word she spoke made all of his flaws and weaknesses painfully clear to him. He supposed he might have hated her if every criticism she gave of him wasn't valid. He couldn't hate her for telling the truth. Even her desire to kill his father didn't inspire hatred from him. If she did truly think that Ash was her father's killer Sato could see why that would make her so angry. Sorrow for the death of her father, for the fact that she lived her whole life without knowing him was an understandable cause for anger. The thought gave Sato some pity for her though when he looked at her face he only saw anger; the sadness was nowhere to be found.

"_We have a problem_" Growlithe said frankly. He concealed his words from the others. Sato guessed from the fact that they weren't reacting to Growlithe speaking meant he was successful.

"_What's that?_" asked Sato, also hiding his words from all but Growlithe. "_That even if we do save my dad the vengeful daughter of his arch enemy is going to try to kill him?_"

"_Well I guess there is that too_" Growlithe said as if that was a minor, irrelevant detail. "_But the bigger issue is that you seem to have a giant crush on that vengeful daughter._"

"_What?_" Sato mentally shouted. "_No I don't!"_

"_Then why do you keep stealing looks at her?_" Growlithe asked.

"_I…I haven't been stealing looks at her!_" Sato vehemently shouted as he felt his heartbeat double in speed.

"_Oh come on! You really think I wouldn't notice that you haven't stopped staring at her since we've started walking_?" Sato's cheeks turned bright red, flustered with embarrassment. He didn't realize he had been looking at Elita for so long, he had done so by accident. "_You really should be careful Sato_" Growlithe cautioned. "_If she catches you looking at her like that I don't think she'll like it. She doesn't exactly like you._"

Sato began staring at the ground. "_Not at all_" he agreed.

"_She'd probably forget she agreed not to try to kill you yet if she saw you doing that_" Growlithe jested.

"_Yeah probably_" Sato said with a laugh.

"_But seriously Sato_" Growlithe said. "_She may be…what's the word a human would use…cute…but she wants to kill you and your family! Not only that but she's cruel! The way she talks to you…it makes me sick! I can't stand her!_"

"_I know you can't Growlithe_" Sato said as he recalled the times Growlithe had yelled at Elita.

"_Then why do you keep looking at her?_ _She's not going to like you and you shouldn't like her!_"

"_I know that Growlithe. Just because I…looked at her a few times doesn't mean I like her. It just means…it doesn't mean anything._"

"_Sure_" Growlithe acknowledged. He didn't sound as if he was thoroughly convinced.

The grassy ground they had been walking on soon grew increasingly less thick until it was replaced by barren rock. Eventually they reached a dip in the land that was surrounded entirely by a rock a wall on either side. It looked almost like the mouth of a volcano. Adding to this image were numerous craters from which streams of smoke were steadily rising scattered over the surface of the rock. 

"I didn't know there were any volcanoes on these mountains" Sato observed with mild surprise.

"This is no volcano" said Masao. "Look!"

The old man pointed to the nearest crater. In it stood a large Torkoal, black smoke shooting from its nostrils and back. It appeared powerful and did not look at all happy to see the newcomers on its territory.


	9. Why?

"Let's keep moving" Masao said as he took a step forward. The suddenness of this action stunned Sato. Their group had remained silent for several minutes as they counted the number of Torkoal occupying the craters. As far as Sato could tell there were at least 20 and none of them looked very happy to see the humans.

"What?" he asked as Masao had already walked 5 paces.

Masao seemed unfazed by the Torkoal's demeanor. "Torkoal are not a naturally aggressive species. If we do not threaten them they should leave us alone."

Sato wasn't thoroughly convinced. He had never seen a Pokémon look at anyone with the contempt he saw in the faces of these Torkoal. "I don't know can't we find another way around, just to be safe?"

Masao did not sound impatient, but merely as if he was telling the truth as he replied. "We could but we would delay our journey, possibly by days. This rock wall extends for miles in either direction and several miles into the air. Climbing over or going around it would take much too long. We will be fine."

Elita had already begun to follow Masao's path. Her voice sounded as contemptuous and condescending as ever. "Really Tajiri, you're scared of a couple of Torkoal? Next thing you'll be telling us you still sleep with a night-light, little boy." Sato again blushed in embarrassment of her words. As he did he noticed something unusual. Growlithe was not coming to his aide as he had before during one of Elita's insults.

Sato turned around and saw Growlithe crouched low to the ground looking very anxious and hesitating to follow the rest of them. "Is something wrong buddy?"

Growlithe may have always been a Pokémon but for the first time since he had learned to talk his voice sounded like that of an animal, filled with primal fear. "_I feel…aggression, anger. Those Torkoal they don't want us here and not just because we're on their territory. They want us dead._"

The chill in Growlithe's voice made Sato shiver. "Why? We haven't done anything to them."

If anything Growlithe sounded more afraid than before after Sato asked this. "_I don't know. There's no reason why they should. Pokémon don't start a fight if they don't have to, and almost never want to kill. It makes no sense, but I can't shake this feeling._"

No sooner had these words been spoken than the Torkoal started to crawl out of their craters and formed a line in front of the group, intentionally blocking their passage. They looked like line of soldiers clustered together.

"_This feeling isn't new. It's only gotten bigger now. It's been here…hanging in the air…since…since Rayquaza came!_"

Masao gasped in horror. "Rayqauza! His arrival has agitated the Pokémon, they sense his impending rage the way they sense an impending storm! The domesticated Pokémon like Growlithe still felt it, but the wild Pokémon…they fear it. They fear what will happen and they somehow know that we, the humans, are connected to it!"

Like a firing squad ordered to execute a prisoner the Torkoal shot forth their Flamethrower attacks at the group in unison. Masao cast a wall of light the block the incoming flames. Masao braced his hands against the shield and pushed as he struggled to hold the inferno back.

As Masao blocked the onslaught, more Torkoal crawled into the craters on the side of the shield and crawled back out behind it. Growlithe immediately jumped in front of Sato and began snarling protectively. Three Torkoal immediately appeared before him. Growlithe's resolve was not diminished by their numbers at all.

Without waiting for instruction, Growlithe pounced the Torkoal directly in front of him and used Bite, latching his canines onto the tortoise's long neck. For a moment Sato was confused why Growlithe didn't use Flamethrower so as to maintain a farther range from his opponents; why he had chosen to directly jump into the fray of three attackers when he was fighting alone. His heart sank as he realized the answer. Growlithe had jumped in the middle of the Torkoal so they would focus on him and not attack Sato. He was taking all the risk himself to protect his friend. That's why he didn't wait for Sato to tell him which attack to use even though he was his trainer; if Sato gave him any command that involved not protecting him Growlithe wouldn't listen, so he had decided to just save the time and attack on his own. This is another way that Growlithe was more like a house pet than a battler. He had never learned total obedience and to wait for orders before acting. He always acted in Sato's best interest whether Sato liked it or not.

The Torkoal flailed about helplessly as Growlithe's jaws remained locked on its neck. The Torkoal to its left fired a Flamethrower, aiming to free its companion. Growlithe released his grip and jumped back. The jet of flames collided with the Torkoal Growlithe had been holding and it wailed in pain as it was thrown back several feet.

_That was smart!_ Sato thought. _Maybe he doesn't need my help_. Sato had never won a battle before his battle with Gary Jr.'s Squirtle. It was usually his Growlithe versus his father's Pikachu, an extremely strong Pokémon. Occasionally though Ash would get one of his weaker Pokémon like his Bulbasaur or his Bayleaf, one Growlithe would have an advantage against, from the Oak lab and Growlithe managed to battle it to a draw. When they had done their best it was often due to the fact that Sato was extremely analytical in battle. He studied every move and figured out strategies that often even baffled his father but seemed so simple to his eyes. One time such a strategy involving using the heat from Flamethrower-and-Thunderbolt-induced explosion to turn the sandy terrain they were battling on into slippery glass almost warranted a draw with his father's Pikachu. That was until Ash told Pikachu to use his best Thunder attack to counteract the damage Growlithe managed to do while Pikachu was struggling to stay standing. The battle was over the next instant. That was the way their battles worked; their victories more about Sato's intelligence than Growlithe's power, and their losses were always due to the power of his father's Pokémon. Sato never minded much though. He never cared how powerful Growlithe was, he was a good companion, but after witnessing his battle with Squirtle, and this, he wondered if Growlithe was not only stronger, but smarter than he thought. He also wondered if his becoming a Guardian of Aura had anything to do with this.

This moment of victory was short lived though. Before Growlithe's feet had touched the ground the third Torkoal, using Rapid Spin, slammed its shell into Growlithe and sent him flying back. The other two, now quite enraged, blasted their Flamethrowers at him before he could stand up.

"Growlithe!" Sato shouted. "L...leave him alone!" He began to step forward but hesitated. What could he do? He was nothing more than an ordinary human, and as he saw it a rather unimpressive one at that. Growlithe was easily a million times more powerful than him and he was helpless before this pack of Torkoal. And yet, as he thought this Growlithe's howls of pain grew louder as more Torkoal came to join the attack.

Sato immediately reprimanded himself for his cowardice. _Elita is right about me. Growlithe jumped into this fight even though he was outnumbered to protect me. He never let fear stop him! _

"I said leave him alone!" Sato shouted as he ran forward. He had carried the staff of Sir Aaron with him since they had found it and was still clutching it in his hands. He lifted it above his head and jabbed it into the back of the first Torkoal he reached. The Torkoal made no indication it had felt any pain but turned its head and blew a gust of smoke from its snout in Sato's face. Sato was thrown back by the strength of the breath and fell to the ground coughing as he inhaled the smoke.

_I am so pathetic!_ Sato cursed as he sat up. _If my dad were here he wouldn't be this helpless. If Pikachu were here these Torkoal would be barbequed by now. Why am I so useless? If only I had the faintest clue how to use my powers. It's not fair! Growlithe can't afford for me to be useless now! He's going to get killed trying to keep me safe. Why? Why can't I help him when he needs me to the most? Why? Damn it WHY?_

Sato clenched his fist so tightly it was amazing the staff didn't snap in two. As he did a strange sensation crept up his right hand, a strange feeling of warmth. He opened his eyes that had been forced shut by self-loathing and looked at his hand. The jewel on the staff of Sir Aaron was glowing with a powerful green-blue hue. It was a strange thought but to Sato's eyes the light looked the way he felt: the way it glowed so brightly and so forcefully made it seem angry. It's like it was responding to his anger.

An impulse took over Sato's body. Without giving the choice any conscious thought he stood up. He grasped the staff with both hands firmly. He didn't know why he was doing this, but this strange warmth, the power of the light, both seemed to be, compelling him to do so. It wasn't as if they were forcing him to against his will, it was more like they were instructing him to in their own unique language as if they were saying his rage would be appeased if he listened. He raised the staff and pointed it at the nearest Torkoal. Growlithe had ceased to wail in pain at the continued attack which meant he had either lost consciousness or…

_No…Growlithe! Don't die! I'll save you! I'LL SAVE YOU!_

A blob of light shot from the staff and hit one of the Torkoal sending it flying. When it landed it was unconscious. Sato had no time to wonder how this happened. All he knew was he apparently now had the power to fight for Growlithe as he had fought for him. He aimed the staff at the next Torkoal and when he willed the next wave of light that would save Growlithe to come it came. One by one he aimed the staff at each Torkoal and dispatched each of them with another blast of light. Each time he fired the blast look more focused, more shaped whereas it started out as a formless splash. Before long the blasts began to look almost spherical. Sato could only surmise he was getting the hang of this. He considered trying to create a large enough blast to knock out all the Torkoal at once but he discarded the idea. Even if he could generate a blast that large it might hit Growlithe so he instead blasted away at them one by one. Before long all the Torkoal that had surrounded Growlithe were gone, lying unconscious dozens of feet away from where they had been. Once the battle was over, the staff ceased glowing

Growlithe lay unmoving on the stony ground. Sato immediately ran up to him. He had many visible injuries. If he was alive he wouldn't be for long. "Growlithe! What do I do now?" He may have fought off the Torkoal but he was still helpless. By the time they reached the nearest Pokémon Center it would be too late. "Growlithe I'm so sorry. If I had only started fighting earlier…it's all my fault." He bowed his head in despair.

The staff began glowing again. Sato noticed it out of the corner of his eye. This time the light didn't look angry. It was a deep, dark blue. It looked sad. But despite this it still filled Sato's hand with warmth. Before Sato realized what was happening the warmth once again instructed him and he obeyed. He lifted his arm forward, holding the staff an inch above Growlithe. He could feel the warmth of the light flowing into Growlithe as his beloved friend began to glow with a brilliant white light. After about ten seconds the light began to fade. When it did, Sato saw all of Growlithe's injuries had vanished, cuts sealed up, burns gone, bruises disappeared. It was as if he had never been hurt.

Slowly Growlithe's eyes began to open. He lifted his head up. "_I'm…I'm alive?_"

This brought tears to Sato's eyes. "Yes Growlithe. Yes. You're alive. You're alive!"

Growlithe slowly began to sit up as if he had just woken from a deep sleep. "_H...how? I was dead. I was sure of it. I just couldn't fight anymore but they didn't stop. I knew it was over. Did…_" He looked over and saw Masao still holding back the inferno. Then he looked at Sato's eyes. "_Did you save me?_"

Sato looked away shyly. He honestly hadn't thought of it. He had performed all of his actions with the staff without thinking of them. "I guess I did." He couldn't help but feel a little proud. Growlithe would be dead if he hadn't acted, but he did act and because of him his best friend was alive.

Growlithe stood up. He seemed extremely touched. "_Sato, thank you so much. I…I can't begin to…_"

Sato sat on his knees and dropped the staff. "I'm just glad you're ok." He hugged him tightly.

Suddenly a lone Torkoal jumped out of the nearest crater and lunged at them. It flew towards them twirling in an enraged Rapid Spin attack. Sato had barely noticed it when it was but a few feet in front of them. He reached for the staff but knew it he would not be able to grab it soon enough.

Out of nowhere a blue Aura Sphere collided with the spinning Torkoal and it fell to the ground unconscious like the others. A surprised Sato looked over at the direction it came from and saw Gabir with his hands outstretched.

"Gabir?" Sato asked. "You protected us?" He noticed a pile of unconscious Torkoal by Gabir's feet, dozens of them. They could have easily attacked Sato from behind while he was saving Growlithe but apparently Gabir had made sure that wouldn't happen.

Gabir seemed confused that Sato was asking this. "You were in danger." It sounded as if his response was only natural. He then smirked with good-natured humor. "Besides it was rude of him to interrupt that nice moment." There was no trace of sarcasm in his voice; he believed what he said.

Sato smiled. The boy in front of him seemed easy to figure out. He didn't seem unintelligent but there was indeed a heartwarming simplicity to how he thought and an unusual kindness. He couldn't help but wonder who he was and how he came to be a Guardian. "Thank you Gabir."

"You're welcome Sato." He offered him his hand. Sato grasped it and Gabir helped him to his feet. Sato wasn't used to people of his own age talking to him with such warmth. Gary Jr. was very popular in Pallet Town due to his well-known lineage and had single-handedly convinced most of the youth there Sato was as uncool of a nerd as could be. Most of them listened to him but Gabir was different. From the way he seemed to practically not understand Elita's cruel comments Sato could tell if Gabir had been one of those children, if Gary had tried to convince him to join in the mockery and ostracizing of Sato he would've been the one who said no, the one who wouldn't see any reason to treat him cruelly just because Gary said so. What Gabir said next made it seem as if he had read Sato's mind. "You know, we could be friends."

The suddenness of this request shocked Sato. He hadn't thought he had made a very good first impression with his repeated emasculations at the hands of Elita. "You really want to be friends?"

"Of course." Gabir again sounded confused by Sato's confusion. "The way you protected Growlithe, the way you stand up for your father's honor when Elita insults him; you seem really brave and loyal."

Again the simplicity of his words made Sato happy. Gabir truly thought of him as brave and loyal. That was definitely more endearing than some of the other things his other peers had called him throughout the years. "And you are probably nicer than anyone I've ever met. Friends?" He held out his hand.

Gabir shook his hand. "Friends."

Growlithe walked up. "_Then you're my friend to. Thanks for protecting us. If anything happened to Sato I don't know what I would do. Anytime you need a helping paw I'll be there._" He lifted his paw in offering.

Gabir shook Growlithe's paw as if it was a hand. "You're welcome. You're the bravest Pokémon I've ever seen. I'm sure you'll be a good friend."

Suddenly there was the sound of a small explosion. Sato, Gabir and Growlithe turned their heads and saw that Masao was still holding back the sea of fire. The explosion sounded like it came from behind it. About a dozen more explosions followed and after each one the flames diminished until they were gone. The Torkoal who were producing them were lying unconscious where they had stood. Masao dropped his shield and turned his head to the left. Sato turned his head the same direction and saw Elita hanging off of the rock wall by one hand. Her other hand was outstretched. Apparently she had climbed up it to get a better angle to throw Aura Spheres at the Torkoal. She jumped down and landed in the middle of the others.

"Thank you for your assistance" Masao said gratefully.

Elita snorted in derision. "Don't flatter yourself old man. I saw this detour was taking too long and I did something about it that's all. I would've gladly enjoyed watching you all burned alive if I didn't have a schedule to keep."

What happened next surprised Sato; Masao laughed.

Elita seemed extremely annoyed by this. "What are you laughing at geezer?"

"Irony" Masao said simply. "You are one whose words are so cruel and yet whose actions are somewhat less so."

"What does that mean?"

"Well forgive me but I couldn't help but noticing none of the Torkoal you defeated are dead."

Sato was surprised. He looked over and saw Masao was right; every Torkoal Elita hit with her Aura Sphere was still breathing and didn't even appear heavily injured.

Elita sounded as if Masao had poked at the most sensitive nerve she had. "I wouldn't read too much into that you ancient fool!" She sounded defensive. "We have a long way to go before we stop for the day. It would only delay our journey further and make me tolerate your insufferable existences longer if I wasted all my strength killing Torkoal. Besides they were so weak they wouldn't make good sport."

Masao seemed only amused by this response. "Right, my mistake."

"I swear one day I will see to it you die in agony old man."

"Perhaps young lady, but for now let's move on."


	10. Faith

"I know you're there Gary, open up!" Misty had been pounding on the door at the Oak Laboratory for over ten minutes. Her right hand had actually grown tired and she had to switch to her left. Her two youngest children were at her feet, 10 year old Kenny with little 7 year old Sue, carrying her favorite Psyduck plush doll.

Finally the door slowly opened. Gary was holding many papers that looked to be of great importance. He looked worn out and didn't seem to be pleased at the interruption. When he saw the family he looked embarrassed. "Oh hi Misty. Hey kids. Um…I'm kind of busy so…"

Not having heard a word that Gary said Misty walked right through the door and her children followed. "We need to talk" she said flatly. It was not a request.

Gary didn't look very enthusiastic about the idea but also seemed to understand that saying 'no' was not an available option. "Oh ok. Tracey!"

Tracey's voice came from somewhere down the nearest hallway. It sounded very aggravated. "WHAT? I'm compiling that information on Dragon Pokémon as fast as I can you slave-driver! If you want I can just give you one of my arms! How about a kidney? Now that I think about it I probably have more lungs than I really need, how'd you like one of those? Will that makes things easier?"

Kenny and Sue both laughed at this outburst, Sue a little more quietly than her brother. Misty couldn't help but chuckle despite everything that was going on. Gary seemed slightly amused and managed a small smile. "I'm just letting you know that Misty and her kids are here so I'll be taking a little break, but don't worry I'll be back to loosen your shackles soon."

That obviously was not the answer Tracey had been expecting. "Oh…" He sounded embarrassed. "Ok then. Let them know I say hi."

Misty chuckled again. "Hi Tracey" she said.

"Come on we can talk in the study" Gary invited. "Your kids can wait in the living room."

In a few minutes she and Gary stood alone in the study when they were convinced Kenny and Sue were occupied by the television set in the living room. Gary was more convinced that Misty. She knew how likely her son would be to eavesdrop on their conversation and how even more likely he was to coerce his sister into following. He had done it so many times, most recently when Sato had told her that Ash would be heading on a mission and as a result her two youngest children had found out their father was a Guardian of Aura sooner than anyone would have liked. She didn't particularly care this time though.

With the air of a guilty little kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar Gary started. "Well…I'm guessing my son did something to Sato today and that's why he isn't here huh? Look I'm…"

"That isn't it" Misty cut in. "This time." She added the second part with a bit of incrimination. She wasn't happy with the way Gary's son treated Sato but she had even more important issues to deal with.

Gary straightened up and seemed to realize how serious Misty was. "Oh. Then this must be about Ash, and his fight with Rayquaza."

"So you've heard of it then?" Misty asked. It seemed like a pointless question. The whole world had probably heard of it by now.

Confirming the ridiculous nature of this question Gary replied, "Well I do watch TV…and go on the internet…and talk to people."

"Right" Misty said dryly. Her sense of humor had dried up. "Then you know what I want. We need to save Ash."

Gary's eyebrows cocked at this statement. Obviously its simple directness caught him off guard. "Oh…well that definitely sounds like a good idea. Do you have any suggestions about how to actually go about doing it?"

"Why else would I be talking to the Kanto region's most renowned Pokémon professor?" Mist asked impatiently, as if there could be no other answer to the question.

"Friendly visit?" Gary jested as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. A piercing glance from Misty showed him she wasn't in the mood for lightheartedness. Gary took the message and stiffened up. "Sorry."

"So how do we stop Rayquaza then Professor?" Misty asked. She sounded like she was asking how to put a piece of furniture together, as if she expected simple direct instructions.

"Well it isn't that simple Misty."

"I don't care if it's simple. Whatever it takes to save my husband I'll do it. I don't care how hard it is. So break it down for me Professor."

Again Gary could clearly tell this was not an optional request. This irritated Gary greatly and Misty knew it. Still she did not back down. Accepting the fact that he was going to be taken from his research for a bit of time Gary let out a sigh. "All right Misty, believe it or not I've been looking into this since Rayquaza showed up. That's why Tracy has been compiling data on everything we know about Dragon Pokémon for me; so I can analyze Rayquaza's weaknesses."

Misty's patience seemed to have increased a little bit. "What did you find?"

"Well it's not good news" Gary said honestly. Misty remained unfazed. "As I'm sure you noticed on the news Rayquaza is completely invulnerable to manmade weapons. Tracy managed to track down a piece of its hide for me that fell off it during its past battle with Deoxys. When I examined it I found that Rayquaza's scales are many times harder than diamond. You could shoot it point-blank with the strongest Gatling gun ever built for hours and all it would do is annoy it. Not only that but it is a durable enough material to easy absorb the shockwaves created by most missiles. The only weapons that might have a shot at hurting it are nuclear ones, but attempting to use those against it would have cataclysmic environmental effects and would be completely impractical as Rayquaza can fly fast enough to completely evade a nuclear explosion. Any effort by humans to stop it would be completely hopeless."

"Then we stop it with other Pokémon" Misty said simply.

"There are problems with that approach too" Gary replied. "As you might be aware the Dragon type is arguably the most powerful element of any Pokémon type; resistant to many types and with only two weaknesses, the Ice type and other Dragon Types."

"So we find a bunch of Dragon and Ice Pokémon and attack him with them then" said Misty.

"It's not that simple Misty" Gary cut in, sounding guilty about telling the truth. "Any Dragon Pokémon we attack him with will invariably have the same weakness to Dragon type moves that he does and because he is a Legendary Pokémon his stats and power will always be superior to the ones we send after him. So he would almost certainly defeat any Dragon Pokémon we used against him before they could do any good."

"How do you know that?" Misty asked. "We could track down the strongest Dragon Pokémon in the world or something. Maybe they could do the trick."

"That's what I thought" Gary said, "Until I looked into it." He walked over to a computer in the corner of the room and turned it on. "This is a Battle Computer. By examining a Pokémon's DNA it can determine its battle power; its speed, strength and defensive power as well as the moves it is capable of using and compile all this data into an approximation of the Pokémon's all around power on a scale from 1 to 100. These are samples from the two strongest Pokémon of two trainers; Lance, the Champion of our Elite Four and Cynthia the Champion of Sinnoh's Elite four or in other words from the two strongest Dragon Pokémon in the world. Well the strongest non-legendary Dragon Pokémon that is. Lance's Dragonite is level 75 and Cynthia's Garchomp is level 77."

"On a scale from 1 to 100 that's pretty good." Misty said.

"That's what I thought" Gary repeated, "Until I looked into it. Tracy managed to find a sample of Rayquaza's blood that came from that cut Ash gave it on its face. It was much harder to get than its scale especially with the cops snooping around the battlefield. If he hadn't coincidentally been in Tokyo on business he never would have gotten the chance. When the fight started he was sure to try and see every detail. When he saw Ash draw blood he was on the roof of the building where he had the next second with a beaker. With the cops interrogating everyone after the battle it's amazing he got out of there with the sample."

"Why did you need his blood?" Misty asked. "Why not use the DNA in that scale to find out his level?"

"His battle with Deoxys was years ago, we needed a more current sample to get more accurate data" Gary explained.

Misty nodded. "And?"

"And…" Gary began hesitantly. Then his voice turned grim. "Rayquaza is level 100."

Misty's heart sank. Her voice was almost a whisper. "What?"

"I've run countless computer scenarios using the Dragon Pokémon owned by Lance and Cynthia and even those from Gym Leaders like Clair and Drayden. Even when all four of them attack Rayquaza at the same time with all of their Pokémon they lose; Rayquaza takes them all down with one hit too quickly for them to even do damage on the way out." From the frustrated way Gary explained this Misty could tell that he was angry he couldn't find better results.

Misty was now full of fear. Before her determination to find a way to help Ash had pushed it out of her mind but now she was faced with the reality that there might be no way to. Still she did not relent then. "Ok what about Ice Pokémon? Rayquaza will be doubly weak against them since he's a Flying type and they aren't super vulnerable to Dragon moves."

"That's what I thought…until…" Gary began.

"If you say that one more time I will kick you hard enough to insure Gary Jr. never has any younger siblings and your voice goes up a couple of pitche" Misty warned.

Cringing at the thought Gary yielded. "Right…well anyway this sample of Rayquaza's blood shows that it knows Flamethrower and its Special Attack stat is high enough that it would only need to hit any Ice type Pokémon we used against it once. He also knows Thunder so using dual Water and Ice type Pokémon wouldn't work either. We could send hundreds of type advantaged Pokémon against it and we wouldn't do any good. No one fights a level 100 Pokémon and wins except maybe another level 100 Pokémon."

A tight not had formed in Misty's stomach and she was beginning to wonder if she would get sick. This monster that wanted to kill her husband seemed to have an answer for every strategy she could come up with. "Well where do we get one of those? There must be other level 100 Pokémon out there, even ones that aren't type advantaged!"

Gary's voice was full of despair. Evidently he had already investigated this theory too. "No. None; no Pokémon trainer in any region in any part of the world has ever successfully trained a Pokémon to level 100. Those who have come closest always say there's some kind of plateau their Pokémon hit in the 80's that they can't seem to overcome. The only known level 100 Pokémon in existence are Legendary Pokémon and we don't exactly have any of those lying around."

With this Misty's memory suddenly clicked. Her husband had many adventures in his life on his Pokémon journey, many with her many without her. Those he had experienced separated from her he had shared once he returned home and began to settle down. There was one in particular that seemed relevant know. "Wait there is a Pokémon trainer that has some of those lying around! The first time Ash fought in the Sinnoh League he lost to a trainer named Tobias who had a Latios and a Darkrai. Ash's Sceptile was able to beat his Darkrai but it took the rest of his Pokémon to take down Latios and even then it still defeated all of his Pokémon. And Latios is a Dragon type Pokémon so it would actually be able to hurt Rayquaza and even if it wasn't enough Darkrai would be able to help it."

Gary answered this idea with a sad look of disappointment, as if she had made him recall his greatest failure. She understood. "You looked into that idea too didn't you?" she asked.

Gary nodded. "There have been a handful of trainers who have befriended Legendary Pokémon which granted them unbelievable power but currently there are none. I've looked them all up. It wasn't that hard since there aren't that many of them. Every trainer who has ever owned a Legendary Pokémon at some point has released it. While the Pokémon they capture are as loyal to them as any other they always yearn to return to nature eventually. Every Legendary plays a pivotal role in the balance of nature so the few who have been domesticated don't stay that way for long. Any trainer who has ever had a strong enough heart to tame a Legendary understands this and willingly sets them free. Right now there are no known trainers that have Legendary Pokémon in their possession. Besides Tobias' Pokémon were never level 100, that's why Ash was able to defeat them." His eyes widened. His mind seemed to drift to another, much brighter place "Although…"

Misty's heart skipped a beat. Could this be the glimmer of hope she had been praying for? "Although?" she repeated, urging him to continue.

"Defeating a Legendary Pokémon with regular Pokémon is an extraordinary accomplishment but not an unheard of one. Aside from Ash there are a few trainers in the world who have done it." He sounded as if he was finding the answer to a difficult equation that had eluded him for hours.

Misty didn't want to risk getting her hopes up again but she wanted Gary to continue. "Like who?"

"Ash might have told you about one" Gary said. "He set out on his Pokémon journey the same day we did. While I choose Squirtle as my first Pokémon he choose the Charmander, well actually he chose his first." He laughed nostalgically. "Ironic, I chose Squirtle because I thought that would give me the edge over him and immediately challenged him to a battle but I lost and after that I never beat him, not even once. While I always seemed to be one step ahead of Ash this guy always seemed three steps ahead of me. He destroyed Team Rocket the first time around. He also won the first Pokémon League Ash and I ever competed in and went on to crush the Elite Four. He's always been in a class all by himself, Ash and I could never hope to match him. Of course Ash never fought him but it's easy to guess who would've won."

Misty had heard of this illustrious trainer. "Ah you mean Red."

Gary smiled for the first time since the conversation had begun. "Yep Red, he's the strongest Pokémon trainer to ever come out of Pallet Town. He captured all 150 Kanto Pokémon and more. In his entire career he was only defeated once."

Misty hadn't heard of this. "He's been defeated?"

Gary nodded. "Yep a trainer named Ethan from the Johto region beat him once on top of Mt. Silver. He's the guy that defeated Team Rocket the second time when it just wouldn't stay dead." He seemed to become lost in his memories at the mention of this. "After the Pokémon League I hadn't seen Red for years. I didn't even know where he was. Apparently he just stayed at the top of Mt. Silver all the time. It was a place with such strong Pokémon, Pokémon most trainers were too afraid to go near but even they were weak compared to his. Then one day during his endless contemplation a trainer he had never met randomly showed up. Red knew he must have been strong to make it to the summit so without a word their battle began and for the first time ever Red tasted defeat. I never thought anyone could beat him and neither did he. After that he stayed up there for the longest time but eventually he came back down. Now he mostly just stays in his house by himself all the time. He lives right next door to me so getting ahold of him should be easy. I go ever there to visit sometimes but I've given up on trying to beat him; I know it's never going to happen. But he should know how to reach the others."

"Others? There are more besides him and Ethan?" Misty asked.

"Five to be exact" Gary answered, holding the fingers of his right hand up. "The five strongest Pokémon trainers on earth; Red, Ethan, a trainer named Brendan, the Champion of the Hoen region, another named Lucas the Champion of Sinnoh and Hilda the Unova Champion. All five of them make every region's Elite Four look like pushovers. They are famous for their amazing accomplishments and most importantly they have all defeated and captured Legendary Pokémon before."

Misty nearly shouted. "They have?"

"Yes. Of course they're retired now like us but they form an interconnected circle of friends. They're the only trainers who can pose a challenge to each other as well as the only ones who have any hope of defeating one of the others. No trainer within their respective regions has ever dethroned them, not even Tobias against Lucas in Sinnoh. When one of them feels like a battle they contact one of the others. Red has avenged himself against Ethan plenty of times but Ethan has also repeated his success many times. In fact each of them has defeated all of the others at some point and each of them has been defeated by all of the others at some point. They have all entered into an elite class of trainers that stands above everyone else on the planet. They don't have a single level 100 Pokémon among them but if they work together maybe…just maybe…"

Misty was beaming joyously now. "They can defeat Rayquaza!"

"Maybe!" Gary was sure to say. "I'm not promising anything. But they're definitely our best shot. I'll go see Red as soon as I can and he can contact the others. They're used to doing this kind of thing anyway so I doubt they'll be surprised and I'm almost certain all of them will agree to help."

Misty ran up to Gary and clasped her hands on his shoulders. "That's so great Gary! Thank you! The strongest trainers in the world will be fighting for my husband! Thank you so much! Oh if you weren't such a bad father I could almost stand to hug you!"

Gary's expression was a cross between a smile and the expression that appears on most men's faces when they are kicked in-between the legs. "Yeah…you're welcome Misty I'm happy to help."

Misty folded her arms smugly. "Hey since your son started picking on Sato that's the highest I'm capable of thinking of you. You should be grateful I'm came that close to complimenting you."

Gary let out a sigh. "The same as Ash huh? Seems like our friendship ended the day both our sons could walk." He sounded genuinely sad.

"Well you know there is a solution" Misty said. She could discuss this issue freely now that there was a plan to save Ash. She usually left discussing Sato and Gary Jr.'s issues to Ash. She figured since he and Gary were friends they would be better be able to sort it out. But that hadn't exactly worked. "You could discipline your son you know."

For whatever reason the self-entitled, defensive rage that usually followed when Ash suggested this did not come this time. Perhaps it was he was speaking with Misty this time or maybe he felt guilt over Ash's current predicament but for whatever reason he let out another weary sigh. "I just can't. I know what he does isn't right but I guess I just always wrote it off as the same arrogance I had when I was a kid. But deep down I always knew he was being worse than I was. I know I should say something but I just…can't."

Misty gave him a stern look. "Go on."

Gary looked at her with reluctance. He seemed hesitant but relented. "He's my grandpa's legacy. I feel like if I try to stifle his confidence in any way I'm stopping him from exceeding me."

"Exceeding you?"

"He needs to exceed me. I never exceeded my grandpa. I was never good enough. I may have been a decent trainer and professor but I've never broken any ground and as a result the Oak family hasn't improved at all since my grandpa's generation."

"And letting your son push mine around will improve it?"

"No, no. It's just he's so confident and outgoing, even more than I was. I was sure that would be the reason why he exceeds me. I know him being a bully isn't good for anyone I'm just…scared…that…" he trailed off.

"That if you take away what's bad about him you'll take away what's good about him?" Misty finished.

Gary nodded. "Not just that but…with my grandpa gone and…with my wife's death a few years ago…he's the only family I have."

Misty was now a tiny bit less angry at him. "And you're afraid of him not liking you."

Gary nodded.

This time Misty didn't sound scolding. Her voice was full of compassion. "Gary you aren't doing him any favors by letting him do whatever he wants. You're letting his negative side flourish and its choking his good side. He was a nice kid when he was a toddler, before that confidence developed. I'm not saying his confidence is bad but he thinks it makes him better than Sato. As his father you have to do what's best for him even if it means he doesn't like you. You have to put him before yourself." She put her hand on his shoulder. "I know it's hard; I've always been deathly afraid that one of my kids might not like me but something that matters more than that fear is helping them grow into the wonderful adults I know they have the potential to be. I know they'll make me proud. And ask yourself Gary: are you honestly proud of your son?"

Gary looked away from Misty and his head sunk low. "...No."

"Then do everyone a favor and make yourself proud; make your son hate you."

Gary chuckled weakly and looked at Misty with a small smile. "I'm going to go see Red and then I'm going to have a long talk with my son; he's grounded."

"You do all that and maybe one day I'll be able to hug you and keep my lunch down" Misty said, patting his shoulder. "So do you have any questions about how Ash suddenly has superpowers? Everyone else has heard of it so there's no point trying to keep it a secret."

"Oh I already knew" Gary said simply. After he saw the confused look on Misty's face he explained. "My grandpa knew that Ash's father was a Guardian of Aura when Ash's parents were dating. Other than Ash's mother he was the only one that knew."

"Oh I guess that makes sense. Ash said that his parents often hung out around the Oak Lab to get away from Delia's parents. They were always welcome here right?" Misty recalled.

"Yep they were practically family" said Gary. "He found out Ash's father was a Guardian by accident one day when he saw him tossing Aura Sphere's around the backyard, showing off to Delia and some of the Pokémon and instead of pretending it didn't happen Ash's father came clean to him about everything. He trusted him implicitly. My grandpa never told anyone but me and he only told me in case anything like this ever happened."

"Smart" Misty acknowledged. "Since you already know that I guess I should tell you Sato is one too." Gary seemed shocked. "Ash hasn't taught him to use his powers yet so he probably won't be much help this time though."

"Well at least Junior will have a harder time pushing him around now" Gary said.

Meanwhile out in the hallway a bit of a situation has developed. Kenny and Sue had been watching TV in the living room but then Kenny had gone to the bathroom. As soon as he left Gary Jr. had taken Su's Psyduck doll from her.

Driven to tears Sue begged "Give him back give him back!"

Holding the toy above her reach, Junior jeered, "Come on if you want it you gotta jump for it. Come on gotta catch em all right?"

Sue tried in vain to jump up and grab her beloved Psyduck only for Junior to pull him just out of her reach every time. Eventually she dropped to her knees, clasped her hands over her face and started sobbing hysterically.

"What a crybaby!" Junior mocked.

Kenny's voice rang through the hall. "HEY!" Within minutes he was between Junior and Sue. "What are you doing to my little sister?"

"This crybaby is your little sister?" Junior teased.

"Hey I know you" Kenny said with conviction. "You're that jerk who's always calling my brother names!"

Junior laughed. "So what if I am? You're loser brother is asking for it just by being such a nerd."

"You're just jealous that he's so much smarter than you'll ever be you loser! If he saw what you were doing to our sister you would be sorry but with him not here I'll be the older brother." Kenny was full of pride. He may have been three years younger than the person he was standing up to but he wasn't afraid.

"I would be sorry?" Junior repeated as if it was ridiculous. "You're brother never does anything! He's a doormat!"

Kenny seemed unfazed. "He's shy, he doesn't like standing up for himself. But if he saw you bullying our sister he wouldn't tolerate it."

"Oh yeah?" Junior challenged. "And just what would he do?"

Kenny was calm and determined. "This." He balled his right hand into a fist and pulled his arm back.

"Kenny!" his mother called. "You know you aren't supposed to hit other kids!" She raced down the hall and placed herself between them.

"He took Sue's Psyduck!" Kenny pointed his finger at Junior.

"That's still no way to handle your problems!" Misty scolded. "You should have told an adult. Now give my daughter her Psyduck back Junior."

"No I don't have to listen to you lady!" Junior was incredulous.

Misty placed her hands on her hips. "Excuse me?"

"Yes you do!" Gary's voice rang from across the hall. He appeared next to Misty. "Mrs. Ketchum is a guest in our house and an adult and you'll give her the proper respect!"

His son looked like he was the most confused he had ever been. "What?"

"You heard me son!" He snatched the Psyduck out of his hand and handed it to Misty. "You're grounded! No TV and no training your Pokémon for a month!"

Now Junior was enraged. "What? Dad what's wrong with you?"

"I'm finally being a dad."

"But dad this is Ash's family! He's your loser rival; we have to remind them who's on top!"

"We aren't on top he defeated me at the Silver Conference!"

Junior looked as if he was struck with an iron rod to the chest. "What but you said…"

"I lied!" Gary shouted. "I lied to make myself look good! His Charizard beat my Blastoise! I had the type advantage and I still lost that's how much better he was!"

This remark rendered Junior speechless. It was the first one to ever do so in his entire life.

"Come on it's time for a talk" Gary said, taking his son's wrist. "Bye Misty, bye kids." He led his son away.

Misty gave her daughter her doll back. "Are you ok Sue?"

She sniffled. "Uh-huh. Thank you for protecting me Kenny."

Kenny sounded proud of himself. "With our brother on his mission to save our dad it's my job to watch over our family. I'm the man of the house now. Dad and Sato will be able to focus on their mission knowing that there is a man protecting our family. I can't have them coming back and finding out I didn't fulfill my responsibility." His sister hugged him tightly.

"You're a good brother Kenny" Misty said. "A little reckless but a good brother."

"I'm just trying to do what Sato would do." Kenny's voice was full of admiration for his older brother. "I can never be as good of a brother as him. With him being the one in charge of saving our dad our family has nothing to worry about!"

Sue momentarily took her head from her brother's chest to look at his eyes. "Kenny…I'm really scared. What if Sato and daddy don't come back? Daddy fought Rayquaza and…he didn't win."

Kenny merely scoffed as if this was of no concern. "Please! Maybe Rayquaza was able to beat dad by himself but that's only because he was lucky when it comes to aiming his Ice Beam. But there's no way he can beat both dad and Sato! Come on you trust Sato right?"

Sue nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Of course you do! He's our big brother who knows everything! If anyone can figure out how to stop Rayquaza and save our dad it's him! He's the smartest guy in the world Remember that and don't be scared anymore. Dad and Sato will want to see you smiling not crying when they get back."

A small smile crawled onto Sue's face. "Ok. You're right Sato won't let anything happen to daddy. And daddy won't let anything happen to anyone else." She hugged her brother even more tightly.

Misty's heart was warmed by this conversation. _Those kids of mine_ she thought. _Sato's so shy and thinks so little of himself but his siblings just adore and admire him so much. Maybe Kenny's right. Maybe I shouldn't worry about Sato. I may not know what's happening to him and he may not seem ready for all this but there's no reason to not believe in him. If Pikachu is right and the Tree did pick him for this mission then he must be read for it. I don't know how he'll do it but I do know that I, that all of us, believe in Sato wholeheartedly. Of course that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to help out. _


	11. Power

"So you managed to access the staff's power then?" Masao asked very matter-of-factly.

It was nighttime. They had stopped walking for the day and were gathered around a large campfire they had made with help from Growlithe's Flamethrower. Sato estimated it was at least midnight but after the day's events didn't feel much like sleeping. Gabir was using a stray twig to play with the embers and Elita sat secluded off to the side, quietly sharpening her sword.

"I guess" Sato answered. "I didn't know what I was doing when it was happening. It didn't seem voluntary."

Masao's eyebrow cocked. "Really? You weren't aware of your actions at the time?"

Sato shook his head. "All I knew was I wanted to protect Growlithe somehow. When I thought about it enough the staff started glowing. It was almost like it shared my feelings. And then…it was like it told me what to do."

Masao nodded approvingly. "Very impressive; for you to access your powers and successfully use them to fight without having ever been trained is mesmerizing. You must have true strength of heart; your desire to protect Growlithe was so great that it unlocked your dormant power."

This was the last thing Sato expected to hear. As far as he could tell the staff had done everything and had only used him as its puppet. What he had done had nothing to do with his own strength. "I didn't use my powers. I used the staff's power…somehow. It basically used me as a proxy."

Masao chuckled with a light-hearted smile. "Your father has indeed told you very little Satoshi. Tell me do you even know how that staff works?"

Sato merely shook his head. At this point he was so used to finding out about secrets his father had from him that it garnered no reaction.

Masao seemed only too happy to explain, "That is the Legendary Staff of Sir Aaron."

Sato knew who Sir Aaron was; he had read several stories of his heroic exploits, in particular ending the war that would have destroyed Cameron Palace. He also remembered Masao naming him as a direct descendent of Sir Aaron. After giving it some thought he decided he could believe it. There was enough resemblance between Sir Aaron and the other male members of his family.

"Sir Aaron wielded that staff his entire life and when he died he passed it onto his eldest son. When his eldest son died he passed it onto his eldest daughter then she passed it onto her eldest child and so on and so on. This staff has always been passed onto the head of your family. It is an awesome responsibility to wield it so it is only trusted to one who has been deemed worthy to lead the Guardians of Aura. The reason for that is that is that it greatly enhances the wielder's power, multiplying it many times."

"Enhances it?" Sato repeated.

"Yes. That is why your father took it into his battle with Rayquaza. Without it he is much weaker than Rayquaza. With it he was able to pose a threat. That is also why you are not giving yourself enough credit. The staff is only capable of enhancing the power that is already there. It cannot produce power of its own and it does not act of its own accord. Like you said, it shared your emotions, it responded to them. If you had no power of your own then the staff would have been as useless in your hands as in an ordinary human's. When your emotions ran high and you began to instinctively summon your power the staff helped you. There's no question that the staff made it easier for you to use your power and made it greater but the fact is you still used it yourself."

This didn't seem very significant to Sato. The fact was he didn't use his power until the staff helped him. It was like being unable to ride a bike without training wheels. "Maybe, I still couldn't have done it without the staff though."

Masao shook his head and placed his palm on his face. "Young Satoshi is there anything I can say to you that will make you give yourself credit for something?"

Growlithe let out a purposefully audible yawn. "_If you figure one out you should tell me. I've been trying to get him to stop being so hard on himself since I learned to talk. He seriously bums me out sometimes._"

Sato wanted to change the subject. "How does the staff enhance your powers? Does the jewel act as some kind of electrical conductor that multiplies your aura as it passes through it?"

Masao seemed surprised and impressed by that theory. "That is very clever! There is certainly a surprising amount of knowledge in that young head of yours. Your theory is not so far from the truth. The jewel does play an integral role in power enhancement and it is true that your power is boosted when you transfer your energy into it. However electricity has nothing to do with it, at least as far as I know. No the source of the staff's power is much less physical." The confused look on Sato's face was very apparent to Masao. "Well you see, one truth that has always been apparent to us Guardians of Aura is that there are two planes of existence; the physical and the spiritual. Our auras transcend both. When a Guardian of Aura uses their powers they transform the spiritual energy of their aura, or ki, into physical energy and unleash it into the physical world. The Guardians of Aura are some of the few entities who can freely interact with the spiritual world but only to a limited extent. However all beings are connected to the spiritual plane. Once a living creature dies all of its physical energy becomes part of its spiritual aura and enters the spiritual plane."

"Hey that's like science!" Sato exclaimed excitedly. "Energy can only be transformed into other forms of energy; it's never actually destroyed!"

Masao smiled. "It's not _like _science it is science and your logical connection to that scientific principal was correct. Living energy is never extinguished even by death. It simply becomes a different form the same way that potential energy becomes kinetic energy or something to that effect. All those who have died still exist as completely as they did in physical life."

"So they just exist in a different world?" Sato asked.

"Yes and no" said Masao. "They live on a different plain of existence but that plane is not completely removed from our own. The two planes exist parallel to each other but there are many connections between them, such as the one formed by a death in progress. You are quite aware of this of course; your grandfather used just such a connection to interact with you and to transfer us here. Usually the connections are made by the spiritual plane attempting to interact with ours because spiritual energy is less limited than physical energy in that regard."

"_You mean it's stronger?_" Growlithe asked.

"In some ways" Masao asked. "But it also much less capable of reaching out and influencing the world; it usually needs some kind of connection to the physical plane to do so. When it has one though, its capabilities are astounding such as the tremendous power given to us by our ability to turn our spiritual energy into physical energy. That is the power of your staff Satoshi. The jewel at the top of it was given to your ancestor Sir Aaron when he first became a Guardian of Aura. No one truly understands its properties but what is known is that it is a connection to the spiritual plane."

"So it gives us access to more spiritual energy than we normally have?" Satoshi asked.

"Yes" said Masao. "A very specific type; you see there is a reason that the staff's power only works for members your family. The staff gives you a connection to the spiritual energy of your departed ancestors. When you use the staff your ancestors transfer their spiritual ki into the jewel and the more they contribute the greater your powers grow. There are thousands of deceased Tajiris in the spiritual plain so when they lend the staff's wielder their energy he becomes invincible. That is why the heir to Sir Aaron's family is always the most powerful Guardian of Aura alive."

The sound of Elita's file against her blade suddenly stopped. She tossed it aside and stood up. She sounded as if the answer to a great mystery had been provided to her. "That explains it!" She walked over to Sato, sword in her right hand. She held out her left hand forcefully. "Give it to me." She was deathly serious.

Sato was caught off guard. "What?" He held the staff closer to himself; for whatever reason his first instinct was to avoid parting with it. "Why?"

"That staff is the weapon that was used to murder my father." Elita sounded absolutely certain. "I am going to destroy it."

"H…how do you know?" Sato asked.

"My father was the strongest Guardian of Aura that has ever lived. It should have been impossible for a worm like your father to kill him battle. I've always wondered how it could have happened. Now it makes perfect sense. Your father cheated. In a fair fight he never would have won but he used that staff to enhance his pathetic strength. That staff is the reason your family has always had more power than it deserves. I will destroy it." Her voice was a grim as graveyard. "Give it to me."

Before Sato knew what he was doing he shook his head.

"Give it to me so I can break it in half or I will break _you _in half!" she shouted.

"You promised you wouldn't try to kill Sato yet" Gabir said suddenly. He didn't sound angry, more like he was politely reminding her.

Elita chuckled sadistically. "You'd be surprised the kind of agony a person can live through. I don't have to break my word to force him to let go. After all I am so much stronger than him there's really nothing he can do to stop me." She turned her cruel smile to Sato and held out her hand like a gangster demanding protection money from a victim. "You know that don't you little boy? You are very weak and you don't pretend otherwise. I don't need to waste my power hurting you, you aren't really worth it. So why don't you make this easier on everyone and give me that staff? You know I'll just take it anyway."

What Elita was saying made sense and Sato knew it. She could take the staff without even breaking a sweat. She could break every bone in his body if he tried to stop her and there was nothing he could do about it. Indeed giving her the staff seemed to be the most logical choice. He knew it was the smartest thing to do and yet his grip did not loosen.

"Give. Me. The. Staff" Elita said. It was clear this was his last chance to escape her wrath.

The more logical part of Sato's mind tried to tell him to agree but when he tried to let go every impulse in his body stopped him. "…No."

Elita's smile disappeared and she looked as if she had been thoroughly insulted. "What did you say?" It was as if Sato was a slave talking back to his master.

"I…I said no!" Sato insisted with more force than he had expected. "This staff…is the only reason Growlithe is still alive. I can't let you destroy it. I might need it again."

Elita scowled as darkly as Sato had ever seen. "It doesn't matter if you _let _me you worm. I will destroy it." She threw her left arm forward and grabbed the staff. When she pulled Sato pulled back. Enraged, Elita drew back her sword and aimed for Sato's shoulder. She thrust her arm forward, aiming to piece through his tendons. Expecting the pain that would come from being stabbed, yet being at too close of range to move away, Sato's eyes shut instinctively. When they did he heard the thud of a collision at the moment he expected the sting of Elita's blade. He opened his eyes and found a wall of blue light between them. Elita stood a few feet away from where she had been, looking very surprised. Apparently she had staggered back when her sword had hit the wall of light. Sato immediately looked to Masao. The old man's hands were not raised and he didn't seem to be expounding effort of any kind. The same could be said of Gabir; he was watching what was happening very intensely but he did not seem to be making the barrier. Sato was incredibly confused. It was almost like the light appeared of its own accord. Then the answer dawned on him. He looked to the jewel of the staff. The light was being cast from inside it and spreading out to form a protective dome around him. He had made the shield himself. His instincts had once again protected him while his mind was too busy worrying.

The realization must have been apparent on Sato's face for more rage became apparent on Elita's. She quickly conjured an Aura Sphere in her left hand and threw it at Sato's head. Now knowing what to do, Sato held the staff in front of him. The shield completely absorbed the impact of the Aura Sphere and didn't even seem weakened. Sato put his knee underneath him and stood up. Elita growled and dropped her sword. Using both hands she conjured a much larger Aura Sphere that she spent at least twice as much time charging. With great effort she heaved it. Sato's fear returned to him. He wasn't sure if his shield could absorb such a large attack. Nevertheless he held the staff firmly with both hands and put it in front of him. As the Sphere collided with the barrier and generated a large explosion his eyes closed shut once more. When Sato opened his eyes he saw much smoke surrounding the outside of the shield but the shield itself seemed completely unharmed.

"You can keep that up all day if you wish" Masao said. "You can keep going until you pass out from exhaustion. You could but it would be pointless. That shield has enough energy put into it to absorb anything you are capable of producing. As long as Sato wields that staff he is the most powerful of us. You may be stronger than him but you are not stronger than his entire family."

Elita stomped the ground and screamed in frustration. "BASTARD!" She pointed at Sato. "Cheating bastard! You hide behind that staff's power like a coward! In a fair fight I would kill you! You have no right to this victory. If you have any pride you will throw that staff aside and fight me with your own power! Meaning that you will face your death like a _real _man! "

Sato was very aware that he could not defeat Elita with his own strength alone. But as he looked at the staff he realized something. At the current moment he was perfectly capable of defeating Elita effortlessly. He knew how to make Aura Spheres and shields with the staff and could do so with so much more power than Elita. If he wanted to he could easily get rid of her as a nuisance and end her insufferable insults. With his new power he could easily fill in her position in the group so it would be no loss. But the idea of actually doing that, of overpowering her, using his abilities to make hers seem miniscule, to bully her, sounded too much like the kind of thing Junior always did to him. He realized he didn't want to do that. He didn't want to do that to anyone, even someone as horrible as Elita. He didn't want this new power to make him like Junior. "I'm not interested in fighting. I just wanted to stop you from breaking the staff."

"You coward." Elita was filled with the upmost contempt.

Sato wasn't going to attempt to deny that. It was true that he wasn't going to toss aside the staff and fight her fairly in large part to due to the fact that he would certainly be killed. He was afraid of her and knew it.

To his great surprise it was not Growlithe that spoke up on his behalf this time but Masao. "A coward would use the overwhelming advantage of the staff to eliminate you as a threat right here and now. He knows you're stronger than him and he knows you'll kill him as soon as our mission is over and his hands are off of that staff. It would be the simplest thing for him to make you incapable of doing it now. He wouldn't even have to kill you. He would just have to weaken you to a certain extent. But he doesn't want to, and not because he's afraid of using his power, he did it to protect Growlithe. He just doesn't want to hurt you. He isn't a coward, he's compassionate."

Naturally Sato was just surprised as always when someone described him in a flattering light. _Talk about putting a positive spin on things_ he thought. _Well…I guess it kind of is true. I mean I am a coward but still…I guess I really don't want to hurt her or anyone really. I'm definitely afraid of her…brave is definitely not the word anyone would use to describe me but…I guess compassionate kind of fits._ The thought warmed his heart a surprising amount.

"_It does fit_" Growlithe whispered to him telepathically. "_I know better than anyone. Brave fits just as much even if you don't realize it_." Sato didn't answer but smiled shyly at the compliment.

Elita snorted in derision. "Hmph, coward, compassionate, I see no difference."

Masao frowned. His face and voice were full of pity. "I know you don't."

Elita's scowl deepened considerably. "I am getting sick of your condescension."

"It's not condescension" Masao said simply. "There's not really anyone on this earth that I can consider myself above."

That comment was even stranger to Sato than anything Masao had said about him. Similar confusion registered on Elita, Gabir and Growlithe's faces.

Growlithe spoke to Sato, certain to conceal their words from everyone else. "_That's weird. Apparently whatever is in that mysterious past he won't tell us about has made him think very little of himself._"

"_Still don't trust him?_" Sato asked.

"_No I think we can. He's done a lot for us when he didn't have to. Call it animal instinct but I don't think he's faking this good guy thing. Besides if he did do something bad in his past he at least feels guilty about it._"

"_I guess you're right_."

So many mysteries, so many strange pasts; this was a whole new world to Sato. Before he had felt totally detached from it, but now the staff had made him a part of it. He had strange powers now too. Even if he didn't totally understand them he had them, so even if all these events were strange he was just as strange now. Only now did he really understand how much of a shame it was that he didn't understand his abilities better. With them he had been able to protect his best friend. With them he might be able to help protect his father. He really did enjoy saving Growlithe, feeling like he had been needed. He wished to know that feeling again, to be useful, not dead weight. If only he was older. If only his father had been able to train him to control his powers. If only he had more time to learn now.

He gazed into the jewel of the staff. This was his only window into his powers. The only window into the part of him that made him belong in this fight. He was grateful he had and that it had helped him save Growlithe but still he wished he didn't need it. It felt like needing training wheels to ride a bike. He wished he had some measurable strength of his own that he could use with or without the staff. After all if he was separated from it during a fight he would become useless again. He wished that wasn't the case. He wished he could get stronger.

Again the staff proved it listened to his feelings. The jewel became luminous. This time the light didn't seem to be conveying an emotion. The glow was very internalized, not very bright but not dull either. It was magnificent but showed no desire to spread. It was almost as if the light was inviting him to come closer. His eyes locked firmly on the light until its brightness was all he saw. Soon it closed around him.

"_Oh great we're back here again_" Growlithe said. It didn't take long for Sato to realize what he meant. They were in the same mysterious place where they had encountered his grandfather's spirit. It was still surrounded by ghostly blue light.

"Yes, welcome back Sato and Growlithe!" a hospitable voice suddenly proclaimed. Looking to its source Sato and Growlithe saw the silhouette of what appeared to be a two men walking side by side, one considerably shorter than the other. "Welcome back to the spiritual plane of existence!"

As the two men drew closer Sato began to make out the outline of the taller one. He seemed to be wearing the traditional Guardian clothes. As far as he could tell the shorter man was wearing nothing. The taller man continued to look more familiar. "Is that you grandpa?"

"Good guess kid. But I'm just a little too old for that. I am family though."

The two men continued to move closer. The shorter one seemed to have long hair and now it looked like he was wearing shorts and a pointed hat. His face had an odd shape to it. As they came closer his face began to look more like a dog's snout. Sato finally realized it wasn't a man at all. It was a Pokémon. His realization was confirmed as their shades became completely in focus and he saw a Lucario standing next to a Guardian of Aura. This Guardian did indeed resemble Sato's grandfather but he was a bit shorter and stockier than him, more like Ash. Then it dawned on Sato. He knew this Guardian's face. He had seen so many pictures and heard and read so many stories of him. He was the legendary Guardian hero whom he had grown up admiring.

"So this is my current heir, impressive. Not all of my descendants have this impressive of an aura at such a young age. But before we get to that I believe introductions are in order. I am known as Sir Aaron, but no need to be so formal, just call me Aaron. I hear you're interested in getting stronger. I believe I can help you with that."


	12. Strength of Spirit

"Well meeting my dead grandpa was one thing but even after that I never expected this" Sato observed casually.

"True but at this point does anything really surprise you all that much?" Aaron jested with a light-hearted laugh. His smile was less naïve than that of Sato's grandfather, but just as welcoming and happy. Sato merely shrugged in response. He had a good point.

"_I am Lucario_" said the Pokémon who stood next to Aaron. "_I'm already well-acquainted with your father. He was there when I died._"

Trying to see if there was any sense to be found in these new sensations Sato asked "Didn't you both die like a thousand years ago?" That was at least what he had read in the books about these two heroes.

"_He did I didn't_" Lucario answered, pointing to Sir Aaron. "_When he sacrificed his life by giving the power of his aura to the Tree of Beginning to stop the war that would have destroyed Cameran Palace he sealed me in his staff to spare me the same fate. Almost thirty years ago your father accidentally released me. Since he had a Tajiri's aura the staff responded to his presence and so did I. I thought he was Aaron for a while. When we went looking for his lost Pikachu we ended up having to save the Tree of Beginning together. I sacrificed more of my aura than him to stop him from dying. When I died he was the last person I saw._"

Again Sato merely shrugged casually. "Sure why not?" Aaron and Lucario chuckled.

"At least you've learned to go with the flow Sato" Aaron said.

Sato's eyes opened slightly. "How do you know my name?"

Aaron laughed once again. "I'm family remember. Our spirits are connected. You think that I don't watch over my descendants? When you're dead it's one of the most fun things there is to do. Besides a lot of interesting things are happening in the physical realm right now, and as usual my family is smack-dab in the middle of them."

'As usual' was the part of that sentence Sato fixated on. As far as he was concerned for most of his life he had come from a basically normal family. Now it seemed as if there was nothing normal about it at all. But it also seemed like 'going with the flow' truly was the only way to get used to any of this. "So you're here to help us?"

Aaron nodded. "In the past this would be exactly the kind of thing the Guardians of Aura would deal with but there are so few of us now. Most of us that still have physical life are those locked up in a federal American prison, too wrapped in the horrible guilt of their own misdeeds to be of any help. But at the very least a small fraction of my descendants have made it to this modern day, enough of them to continue the order. Your grandfather summoned you the other living Guardians that he judged to be most capable of helping you."

_Most capable?_ Sato repeated. Certainly that quality applied to Masao, he was old, experienced, powerful and insanely loyal to Sato and his family. It did apply to Gabir to a certain extent, he was kind and helpful but still he was very young. But why then did his grandfather summon Elita? Certainly she was powerful but she hated Sato's family with everything that she was. Why would Sato's grandfather bring the daughter of their family's greatest enemy to help them? She may have agreed to help them for her own selfish reasons but still she was ready to turn against them as soon as she would be able to. Sato didn't know if she was strong enough to kill his father but she had trained her whole life to do so. Overlooking the possibility wasn't wise as far as he was concerned. After all she was surprisingly strong for a young girl.

Still she her strength could be very useful in fighting Rayquaza. Maybe that's why she had been summoned, not because she could be trusted but because she was necessary. As the saying went 'beggars can't be choosers.'

As Sato pondered this he realized something even stranger. It was easy to see why Elita was capable. She had been training to take her revenge. But why were Masao and Gabir so capable? For the first time Sato realized he knew almost nothing about them, who they were where they came from etc. Why were they Guardians of Aura? Why were they somehow removed from the psychologically damaged and thus useless majority of the remaining Guardians and why were they on his side?

Either unaware of or undaunted by Sato's current train of thought Aaron continued. "There still remains one major problem that needs addressing. You are dangerously undertrained for this mission with barely any control over your powers. Unfortunately this incident had to come at a time before your father could give you the proper instruction. So in his place I will train you and make you ready to battle Rayquaza."

The suddenness of this statement took Sato aback. It's odd that Aaron would appear with this proposition the moment he had been pondering his desire to be stronger. Still it was an unrealistic goal. "We only have seven days until Rayquaza comes back, well actually six at this point. I won't be able to train much by then. There isn't enough time."

This time Aaron burst out in a loud, insanely hysterical fit of laughter. It was as if Sato had sad the single most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. "TIME?" he repeated as if the world itself was the essence of absurdity. "TIME? You're worried about TIME? That's the funniest thing I've ever heard! I mean what is time? It's a product of your perception of reality and nothing more! Seconds, hours, minutes, they all mean nothing! They are simply a way you have developed to try to make sense of something too big for you to fully understand; the movement of the universe and reality. After all, if your mind somehow slowed down to the point where it believed one hour took place in the time someone else perceived to be one second how would you know who was right?"

Sato was completely bewildered by Aaron's frenzied outburst. It wasn't exactly the kind of behavior he expected from a legendary hero. Then again he had always heard he had a very lighthearted demeanor. He still wasn't quite sure how to act in response. "Uh…you bring up a good point with various philosophical and scientific ramifications that I'm sure many scholars would love to spend hours debating…but the fact is I don't think I can squeeze six years of training into six days just by telling myself that time is an illusion."

Aaron's smile did not dissipate but he put his hand under his chin and nodded in agreement. "True the type of training we need you to do is physical and your physical body is limited by the constraints of your perception of time. That certainly _sounds_ like the type of thing that would cause a problem with preparing you."

Sato and Growlithe's confusion must have been very apparent because Lucario answered their question before they had time to ask. "_In order to train you to a sufficient level of strength in what little time you have we will free you the limitations of your physical bodies._"

This still did not make things very clear to Sato and Growlithe. "_What?_" Growlithe asked.

"How are you going to do that?" said Sato. Only one explanation made sense to him. "You're not going to kill us are you?"

Sir Aaron and Lucario chuckled a bit once more. "That would be counterproductive to making you strong enough to fight Rayquaza now wouldn't it?" said Aaron. "But you are right on one count, it is through presence in the spiritual plane of existence that we will free you. You see in the spiritual plane time truly is nothing more than an illusion. Even now this conversation only seems to be taking place throughout the normal time of a physical conversation so that your senses can understand it. Even our current forms are illusions; it would be impossible for you to truly perceive Lucario and me as we really are in this plane with your limited perception. In death we have ascended to a higher level of being. Since you two have yet to die you cannot fully comprehend our existence therefore we must appear to you as we did in physical life. While you are here it is like physical existence to you and yet you are free from some of its constraints. We could speak like this for hours but once I return your aura to your physical body you'll find only a few seconds have passed which means if I were to train you for a decent number of years in here when you return you will find that only a day or two has passed."

Sato certainly didn't expect that. "You can control how much time passes when we're here?"

"To a certain extent" Aaron answered. "We have to keep some limits though. Physical beings are only allowed so much power. If I was allowed to condense 100 years of training into one second for you then you would easily end up becoming the most powerful physical being. That's why most of the connections between the two realms are made by the spiritual realm communicating with the physical. The amount of power in the spiritual realm could easily propel the physical realm into complete chaos if it was used indiscriminately. Therefore I am only permitted to give you a certain amount of training, only a fair amount no more than what would have been possible for you to receive without my intervention. I have been granted permission to give you the amount of training that you would have had if theoretically you had begun Guardian training as soon as you were physically capable; ten years. I will condense ten years of training into a short enough period of time that you can still complete your mission."

Certainly this sounded like a very good idea. But still Sato had trouble believing it wasn't too good to be true. "You're going to condense ten years into one second for us?"

"Not quite" Aaron said. "I'm allowed to help not to make it easy."

"Allowed?" Sato repeated. "What exactly do you mean by that? Who's doing the allowing? Is it God, or gods or angles or something?" Sato had never been raised under a particular religion but he knew a decent amount about most of the major ones. He found them interesting so he figured this would be a good opportunity to find out if a particular one of them was 'right'.

Again both of the deceased Guardians chuckled. Lucario answered, "_That would be an example of the power we aren't allowed to share with the physical realm, in this case the power of knowledge. If we were to answer that question you would probably end up starting some kind of holy war back in the physical world._"

"Plus the answer is too complicated for you too fully comprehend anyway" Aaron added. "It would be a waste of everyone's time for us to try to explain. You'll find out when you die."

Sato shrugged in casual resignation. "Fair enough, at least death won't be boring."

With a wide smile Aaron said, "Not at all Sato. You'll have plenty to look forward to! But back to the matter at hand what do you two think of this plan?"

"_What do __**we **__think of it?_" Growlithe asked. "_Since when do spirits ask for our permission? Sato's grandfather certainly didn't ask for it when he sent on us on this wild adventure._"

Aaron didn't seem deterred by Growlithe's accusing tone. "He was short on time. He used Delia's death as the connection to interact with your world. We are using the staff and don't have such a time limit. He had to do whatever it took to help his son and you Guardians are the only ones who can save him."

Growlithe offered no objection but Sato had a feeling that he wasn't entirely convinced. He had no time to dwell on this thought however and decided to continue. "How much time would this take?"

"Three days."

_There's the catch_ Sato said as if the whole thing finally made sense. "Three days! That's half of our remaining time. We can't afford to do that."

"I had a feeling you'd say that" said Sir Aaron. "I'm afraid that's the best we can do. Otherwise it would be 'cheating' as your little lady friend Elita is fond of calling it."

_Looks like he's using the term 'friend' pretty loosely _Sato observed dryly. It wasn't worth lingering over though. "What's the point then?" he asked. "What's the point of wasting all that time training us if it takes so long we never get to use it?"

"_That's exactly why you should do it_" Lucario said. "_We wouldn't be allowed to train you at all if it was destined to be a complete waste of time. That must mean that somehow three days is all the time you really need._"

Growlithe's protective suspicion surfaced again. "_That's a little hard to believe honestly. How do we know we can trust you?_"

For the first time since the conversation had begun Aaron turned serious. His smile disappeared and his face became completely somber. He walked forward and kneeled down, meeting the two at eye level. "My entire family was almost wiped out by a war not so long ago. It was a horrible time. Sato, I love you. I love you Growlithe. You two are the parts of my family that have managed to survive despite all the difficulties. I don't want you or any other of my descendants to suffer the pain of death while you still have so much life left to live and I don't want the world to end with the Guardians of Aura being nothing more than a flicker of a memory. I swear on everything that I am, I will do whatever I can to help you save your father and the world. Like you, like your siblings or your mother and even like your grandfather, I love your father. I will protect him." His voice was intense and deeply serious.

Apparently Growlithe's animal instincts found these words to be genuine. He raised his head to Aaron's eyes and nodded. "_Ok we'll trust you._" Sato had no objection. Growlithe was always the more reluctant of them to trust because of his protective nature so his agreement was all he needed. Therefore Sato simply nodded.

Aaron stood up and smiled. "I'll transport your spiritual energy back to your bodies. That's where your auras are still anchored since you are alive. Tell your allies what the plan is, then return. Oh and one more thing, be ready to work harder than the two of you ever have in your lives."

A brief flash of white light and in the next instant Sato was once again standing at the edge of the campfire, staff in hand, feeling groggy as if he had woken from a deep sleep. He shook his head vigorously to try to wake himself up. It took a good thirty seconds for him to realize that everyone but Growlithe was staring at him as if he had suddenly turned purple. Their focus reminded him he had an important task to do. "We need to talk."

The details of the plan took a while to fully explain. The actual logistics and implications of it were quick to sink in though.

"Are you insane?" shouted Elita. She had only needed a few seconds to decide what her opinion was on the subject. "We barely have any time as it is and you want to waste half of it!"

Sato had known this would be the single hardest part of the plan, to make everyone get on board with. There was no pretending it wouldn't slow their progress and the only argument that he had in counter was that he had simply been assured everything would probably work out. He hadn't even been given any proof or reason to reassure him.

However, the word of Aaron and Lucario was enough for Masao. "The will of Sir Aaron should be listened to. He is the first Guardian of Aura and he now possesses the wisdom of the afterlife. If he made this plan then it is our best option."

Elita was as incredulous as Sato expected. "How? You said it yourself; the journey to the Tree of Beginning will probably take exactly as much time as we have left! And that was an optimistic guess. Finishing our mission with only three days is an idiotic fantasy."

Masao was unshaken. "Lucario said that would be all the time necessary. Besides perhaps this is Aaron's way of telling us we don't need to go to the Tree."

"Not only are you old as dirt but you are as dumb as it!" Elita jeered. "That doesn't even make sense! Just think about it, HOW is that supposed to work? How are we supposed to cross miles and miles of land in half the time it logically should take? And even if we do abandon our mission to the Tree it will still take more than three days for us to walk to Tokyo in time to fight Rayquaza before he steals my revenge."

Masao began rubbing his chin with his hand. "I suppose you're right. Simply abandoning our original mission won't help. But it appears whatever plan the spirits have in mind for us does involve fighting Rayquaza and they want Satoshi to be ready for it."

The sound of Elita's bursting laughter was much louder and more permeating than a cannon firing. "Ready? Him?" she pointed at Sato as if he was the butt of the single funniest joke she had ever heard. "Now that is the funniest thing I've ever heard! He is a weakling, a coward! He can train for a million years and he'll still be just as useless as he is now! Why bother wasting even a single second on it? He's nothing more than a tagalong. It's not as if any of us actually expect him to fight."

In line with the habit they had developed, Elita's words drove into Sato like a sharp spike. The truth in them was possibly the most painful thing he had ever felt. She was right, of course; he had been nothing more than a tagalong this entire time. He was a burden, nothing more than a bag of luggage the others were forced to carry. He was simply something they carried along on their way to use their amazing abilities to save the world. Not only that but they had to waste their time and effort protecting and maintaining him, Masao, Growlithe and Gabir all had to waste their strength protecting him because he had none of his own. The only reason they tolerated him was because he was the son of the Guardian of Aura who had already fought Rayquaza. He had no merit of his own.

And yet…

When Growlithe was losing his fight with all those Torkoal…he hadn't been a burden. No one else was around who wasn't busy with their own fights. If he had been just useless luggage at that time Growlithe would be dead. It may be true that he needed the staff's power to save him but still, the staff didn't give him his desire to protect Growlithe or his will to act on it. And even if he did it with the staff's power he still felt proud after he had saved Growlithe. To not simply physically exist, but for his existence to have made a difference, to be useful, this was the greatest feeling he had ever known. He wanted to know it again and he wanted to achieve it with his own strength.

"…I…I want to fight!"

All eyes instantly turned to him. But he was the most shocked of all. Just like when he had fought the Torkoal, he had said it without thinking about it. Elita scowled at him, clearly demanding an explanation. The others remained quiet and listened carefully.

"…I…I'm sick of being the only one who's weak! I'm sick of being the useless one. I want to get stronger! I don't just want to sit by helplessly while other people fight for my dad's life. I want to help! I want this more than I've ever wanted anything."

Still, Masao, Growlithe and Gabir remained silent. Sato did not find this strange. It was as if they all knew that Elita's response and how Sato reacted to it would be most important. Even she seemed to understand this. She calmly and forcefully walked up to him.

"You are weak" she said with extreme intensity. "You know that. It is who you are. Nothing you do will ever change that."

Sato stared at his feet meekly. Of course she was right, she was always right when she talked about him He was weak. There was no denying that.

And yet...

The idea that it could never change, the idea that he would always be weak no matter what he did…somehow it didn't feel quite right. Maybe he did need the staff's power to be strong, but sill the fact that he was able to strong at all in any way showed that even if there wasn't a lot of potential inside of him there was still at least some. There was still some strength in him that could be nurtured and grow. And he wanted it to.

"I…I don't want to believe that."

Elita's eyebrow twitched in mild annoyance. "It doesn't matter what you believe. It's true. Stop trying to fool yourself." She sounded as if she was trying to convince a mentally ill person that their hallucinations were not real. She almost sounded like she thought she was telling him this for his own good.

A strange twinge formed in Sato's forehead. His hands balled into fists. This feeling was so strange to him. Usually when Elita insulted him the only emotion he felt was resigned sadness. But this time…this time there was a voice in his head that opposed her, a voice that disagreed and fought his other voices that told him to listen. This time her insults caused him anger.

"It…it isn't true" he almost whispered. Then his voice became a little more audible. "I…don't believe it is." The pang of rage that had formed inside of him grew and then it burst. "I…I…I CAN get stronger! I will!" His threw his head up and his eyes met Elita's. "I don't care what you say. I _will_ get strong enough to save my dad no matter how hard it is or how long it takes. I can do it."

Elita looked completely thrown off guard. She had evidently expected him to sink into despair the way he usually did when she insulted him. But this time he had fought back, he had stood up for himself. Her completely bewildered expression showed she never expected him to do that and now she didn't know how to respond. All of the others looked equally shocked. For once Sato wasn't surprised by his own boldness. He had felt this rage forming and he was glad he let it out. This was the first time had realized how much taller he was than her. Before he had always cowered underneath Elita but now that he lifted his head to her eye level he saw that he actually needed to tilt his gaze down slightly to meet her aqua-colored eyes. Now he was looking down at her.

Elita threw her hands down in frustration. "Fine, this mission was hopeless to begin with. If you want to waste your time in pointless training then go ahead!" She turned around and walked away. She seemed to realize she had lost whatever power she had once held over Sato.

Sato turned his gaze to the others. They all seemed surprisingly happy. But Growlithe stood out most of all. His face was the happiest Sato had ever seen in his life.

"What are you smiling about?" Sato asked jokingly.

His voice was full of pride. "_Since the day we met I've been waiting for you to say something just like that. You finally stood up for yourself and to a bully much scarier than Junior._"

Sato laughed happily. "I guess I did. Sorry to keep you waiting for so long."

"_It's all right, so long as it finally happened._"

Masao sounded as if a student in his class whom had always gotten F's despite great potential had finally raised his grade to an A. "Yes congratulations, you have found your confidence at last Satoshi!" He placed his hands on Sato's shoulders. "You are ready to be trained. Now that you have found the strength of your sprit you will be able to discover the strength of your body!"

His approval made Sato feel surprisingly good. Masao had already admired him more than anyone could ever deserve because of the family he belonged to. But this praise was different, Sato had earned it. Masao and Growlithe were now both fully on board and Elita had no choice. But there was still one person who needed to agree to the plan.

Sato turned to Gabir. "What do you think of this plan Gabir?" he asked him. "You're a part of this too and we can't make you agree to anything."

Gabir didn't seem to need much time to decide his answer. "I'm fine with it. It makes sense. We'll have a much better chance of beating Rayquaza if you're stronger." It sounded as if he thought of the problem as very simple.

Making sure he understood exactly what was being risked Sato asked, "What about the time it'll take? Aren't you worried about that?"

Gabir simply shook his head. "No. We still have three days. It'll work out somehow."

His certainty surprised Sato. "How do you know?"

As if the reason was obvious Gabir simply said, "I don't believe God would let the world end like this. I don't know how but it'll work out."

Sato thought it was strange how Gabir's personality was easy enough to figure out after a few minutes of knowing him and yet he was always able to surprise him. Not only were his morals endearingly simple but so was his faith in the goodness of the world. And Sato knew this part of his personality couldn't be based in some childlike naivety; Gabir had mentioned both of his parents had been killed when he was very young. He was not blind to the evil of the world; it just didn't interfere with his morals and faith. They were just part of who he is. As Sato thought of this he realized how refreshing it actually was that an individual like him could exist.

"While you train we'll protect your physical bodies" Masao said. "You won't need to worry about anything out here. Just focus on getting stronger." Gabir nodded in confirmation.

As he said this the staff begin to glow lightly. Before he was aware it had even transferred the knowledge into his head Sato said, "The staff is telling me that when our training begins our bodies will be unable to move. Our auras will still be tethered to them but all of our energy will be inside of the staff. They'll become empty shells. When our training ends our energy will transfer back into our bodies and we'll be back to normal. Are you sure you don't mind staying in the same place watching over us for that long?"

Gabir shook his head. Masao said, "Three days isn't a very long time."

Sato nodded happily. "Thank you. We'll see you then."

Growlithe sounded grateful too. "_Thank you both for everything. We won't waste this time. We'll get so much stronger you won't even recognize us._"

And with that the staff glowed much brighter. The light enveloped Sato and Growlithe and they once again stood in the spiritual plane facing Aaron and Lucario.

"Well everything seems to be in order" Aaron acknowledged. "Everything but one; you're missing something." A small flash of light appeared above Aaron's hands and in the next instant he was holding a sword. "You're father currently owns your grandfather's sword, but one more of our family's katanas has managed to survive to this day. Catch!" He threw it over his head. It flew gently and landed directly in Sato's outstretched hand.

Sato examined the sword carefully. Its sheath and handle were covered in intricate red and blue designs that resembled flames. Aaron explained, "That was your great grandfather's sword. He was the Guardian who trained your father. That is a good sword of excellent design that has seen thousands of battles. It's been in our family for somewhere between 300 and 400 years. It's usually given to Guardians who have a Fire type partner like his Houndour so it works out well that yours is Growlithe."

Sato unsheathed the blade slightly. The edge was sharp and the blade was flawless. It looked as if it had been made yesterday.

Lucario explained, "_That is merely an apparition of it for the purposes of training but when you return to your body you will find that the real sword has been physically teleported into your hands. This apparition is identical to it in every way._"

Sato pulled the sword out of its sheath the rest of the way. He made a few clumsy slashes with it in the air. It was heavy, but not nearly as heavy as he had thought it would be. It was actually very light for a metal object of its size. As he swung his air the razor-sharp blade sliced thinly through the air. "This is really cool! Thank you!"

Aaron smiled warmly. "You should thank your great grandfather. It was his idea that we give it to you. Of course for the purposes of training the only spirits you're allowed to talk to are us but you'll see him one day. At the very least remember to thank him when you die. His name is Kamikaze."

Sato's eyebrow rose at this name. "If he's named after the suicide planes the Japanese army crashed into enemy ships in World War II then that's pretty insensitive."

Aaron shook his head. "No he was named after the divine wind that saved Japan from the Mongolian Invasions in the 1200's. He was born before World War II so the name thing was an unfortunate coincidence."

Sato nodded in approval. "Oh ok. In that case it's a cool name. Kamikaze, 'divine wind'; sometimes because of World War II people forget how spiritual that word is supposed to be. I'll be sure to thank him right after I drop dead."

Aaron chuckled. "Good. You should be grateful. That's a good sword that's served our family well throughout the years." Aaron surprised Sato by suddenly turning serious. "Of course that sword has also drawn a lot of blood." Sato looked up from the blade and saw the sobering expression on Aaron's face. "It's been used to kill very many people Sato and many of its wielders have been killed with it in their hands."

Sato wasn't quite sure what to say. But in his head the images of many bloody battles ran through and he thought of the various gory things the sword had been used to perform.

Aaron continued. "The path you have chosen is very dangerous Sato. The Guardians of Aura have always been more peaceful than the samurai by far but the fact remains that a Guardian of Aura is still a warrior. I don't know how dangerous your life will be, particularly in this modern age but I do know there is at least one life or death battle before you. You might have to kill. You might die. You might have to watch death. If you can't handle that you should go home right now. There's no point in training someone who doesn't want to fight. That goes for you too Growlithe. Right now I am giving you both your one and only chance to turn back. You have two choices. You can leave and return to the safety of your home and your family. There are others who you can leave to fight this battle. But if you choose to stay here there are two things I can promise you; you will become stronger than you ever imagined possible, strong enough to make a difference in this battle but you will also be put in greater danger and become much more acquainted with death than you ever imagined."

Lucario added. "_It is true that with the power we will grant you that you may become heroes but this comes at a great price. We cannot make the choice for you. You must decide for yourselves if you want to fight._"

Sato was surprised to say the least. He had been thrust into this conflict without having even known what was going on most of the time. He had chosen nothing. But now here at the most pivotal and important moment since his journey had begun everything rested on his choice. So what did he want?

It was true that he wanted more than anything to be stronger. His whole life he had felt like a worthless weakling but when he had saved Growlithe's life he had felt better than he had ever known possible. It felt great for once feeling like Elita's insults weren't true. He had no doubt that helping to save his father would give him similar satisfaction.

But still he wasn't sure about the danger. The idea of getting to know death so well didn't exactly sound appealing. Maybe it was because he was compassionate as Masao said but for whatever reason Sato knew he didn't want to kill. Every story he had ever heard about killing always involved the one who had done it living in horrible guilt for the rest of their life afterword. Still the only one who stood to be killed by him this time around was Rayquaza but that doesn't mean that there wouldn't be other enemies in other fights later. He also didn't want to watch more people die. Seeing his grandmother slip away before his eyes had made him feel very helpless and sad. He also didn't want to die and knew his parents and siblings would be very sad if he did.

And yet…

He might die anyway. They might die anyway. Everyone might die anyway. He didn't start this fight; it had been started without him. Doom was finding its way to him and his family whether he fought against it or not. It's not like his choice determined whether or not Rayquaza tried to kill everyone, it just determined whether or not he did anything about it. Death and destruction were going to happen no matter what he did and there were so few Guardians left to rise against it

…And that's why the world needed him.

He was one of the only people on earth who had the potential to stop Rayquaza, one of the only ones who could ever be powerful enough to make a difference against him. Death and destruction were going to happen no matter what, but if no one fought against it then it would envelope everyone. But if there were those who rose against it, then maybe it could be stopped. Sato couldn't stop death and destruction from reaching him, his family, and everyone else by distancing himself from the battle and this world. The only way he could was by fighting. He didn't want to die. He didn't want anyone else to die. He wanted to save his dad. He could only make what he wanted happen by fighting. He wanted to fight. He was willing even to kill to win this fight.

"I want to stay" Sato said. "I accept all the responsibility that comes with the power you will give us."

"_I was hoping you'd say that_" said Growlithe, sounding relieved. "_Otherwise it would have made it awkward when I told you I wanted to._" He turned to Aaron and Lucario. "_I accept the responsibility too._"

Sato was surprised with the quickness Growlithe had made the decision. "You want to fight Growlithe?"

"_Sato_" Growlithe started. "_Before you found me I was a starving, lonely stray. My life was miserable and then you gave me happiness. I'll do whatever it takes to protect you and your family which will be much easier after I get stronger._" Sato realized this answer was obvious. Growlithe had always been protective and loyal. He couldn't think of a single reason why he would refuse. It was actually pretty silly for him to be surprised that Growlithe agreed to the training.

"Good I can see that you're both wholeheartedly committed to this" acknowledged Aaron. "That's good. We don't need any wishy-washy students. Don't think just because we're family that I'm going to go easy on you."

Lucario smiled slyly. "_This training is going to be more arduous than anything you've ever done. Otherwise you wouldn't learn anything. As the saying goes 'no pain no gain'._"

Ordinarily Sato would have been deterred by this statement. He was never very athletically competitive. But he wanted the strength he would get at the other side of this hard work so he wanted to do the hard work. "Bring it on!"

Aaron smiled. "Very well." A sword materialized in Aaron's hand. "This is going to be fun."

Sato sensed funny business. "Wait a minute; you lived over a thousand years ago. The katana has only existed for about 600! In your day Japanese swords wouldn't have had the curve."

Aaron was clearly both surprised and impressed. "Wow you _are_ smart! You are right; I never touched a katana a day in my physical life. The swords in my day were straight and looked more like those of Chinese design. But in death I've learned a few new tricks. I assure you I am fully qualified to teach you how to use that sword and everything else you need to know."

Lucario added, "_And I am fully qualified to teach you everything you need to know Growlithe._"

Growlithe barked happily. "_And I'm ready to learn!_"

Sato smiled confidently. "So am I!"

Aaron seemed proud. "Well then students, let the training begin!"


	13. Evolution

"Thank you all for coming" Gary said, setting down a tray of cakes on the coffee table next to the mugs of tea. There were five people sitting on the couches surrounding it. Each of them was about 40 years old, the same as Gary. As Gary looked at them he couldn't help but marvel at the fact that they all still dressed basically the same way they did as kids. He couldn't help but wonder if they were all stuck in the phase of life before they became Champions, the last phase where they had ever known excitement.

"So what's this about Gary?" a man in a red hat shirt and blue jeans asked bluntly. He had never been very fond of social pleasantries and never talked much without reason.

Gary was used to this. "Well Red I see you're as much of a social Butterfree as always."

"I see you're as determined to waste my time as always" Red replied.

"Waste your time?" Gary repeated. "All you do is sit around at home." Red said nothing. Having an argument with him was always impossible because it didn't take long for him to lose interest in the conversation he was having.

The man from the Johto region spoke next. "He's right though isn't he? You didn't have him call us all here for a social visit."

Gary sighed. "How can I Ethan when all of you are so quick to get to the point?" Red was the only one of the Champions Gary had met but he knew what the rest of them looked like. There had been enough news reports about all of them that their faces were common knowledge.

The white-haired Hoen Champion Brendan cut in. "Well it would be hard to believe that given that you called us right after Rayquaza showed up and said he was going to destroy the world."

Lucas nodded in agreement. "After all people always call us when this type of thing happens."

Hilda summed the whole thing up. "Let's stop beating around the bush. You want us to stop Rayquaza. Frankly it's surprising you took this long to call us."

Gary was taken back. He was used to Red's lack of social warmth. His visits to his house mostly composed of Red sitting quietly while he talked about his research. Red seemed to always listen carefully but never responded much. Red usually only really spoke if he had some goal to accomplish. Gary never thought the other Champions would be quite as direct and upfront as him.

"Huh, I guess all Champions are quick to cut to the chase" said Gary. "I guess there's no point dancing around the subject then. All right you caught me! As you all know Rayquaza is going to try to kill every human on earth in 6 days. There aren't any weapons that can stop him, and you guys are the only Pokémon trainers on earth who stand a chance of doing so. I called you all here because to have a real chance of defeating him you all have to work together."

Red raised his eyebrow. "Why?"

Lucas seemed incredulous. "I defeated my first Legendary Pokémon before my voice even started to crack."

Brendan seemed equally incredulous. "I've defeated Rayquaza on my own. I was his trainer for a while."

Hilda didn't seem as offended as the others but still said, "Any one of us could do this by ourselves."

Gary had expected this reaction. None of these trainers were very used to being told they couldn't do something. It had been decades since any of them had faced a challenge they couldn't overcome. "I figured you'd say that. Maybe I should have started off by mentioning that Rayquaza is currently level 100."

Stunned silence filled the room. The eyes of each of the Champions opened very widely.

"How is that possible?" Ethan asked.

Brendan seemed the most shocked of all. "He was only level 50 when I caught him and only level 70 when I released him!"

Red remained calm though. "Evidently in the decades since you released him he's been training and gaining strength."

Lucas added, "It's still amazing though. None of us have ever trained even one level 100 Pokémon. Rayquaza must have been training like crazy."

Hilda seemed to have made sense of the strange phenomenon. "Rayquaza's role of killing humanity was written into an ancient prophecy. This might be part of the role it was given in nature, like its position as guardian of the skies or the master of Groudon and Kyogre. He has always been a protector."

Ethan nodded, "It makes sense that he spent the time leading up to the prophecy training to be strong enough to fulfill it."

Gary agreed, "That's what I thought. It did seem unusual his power had increased that dramatically. But he probably knew he'd meet resistance when carrying out the prophecy. That's why you all need to work together. He'd be capable of defeating all of your Pokémon if you fought him alone. He will be much faster and stronger than all of them, but with your Pokémon working together maybe you can overwhelm him. If any trainers have a chance it's you guys I mean…"he gestured to Red. "…Red you were the first trainer to ever defeat Lance and you removed Team Rocket from the Kanto region…" he then gestured to Ethan, "…Ethan you were the first trainer to ever defeat Red, and you destroyed what was left of Team Rocket..."

In reality Gary knew that Team Rocket didn't stay destroyed until after Tanaka had helped reunite it and used them as his personal henchmen in the time leading up to his invasion, finding Giovanni in his isolation. With them he was able to carry out his plans without revealing the presence of Guardians to the world. Once his plans had almost come to fruition and he had no more need of Giovanni he killed the Rocket Boss. Giovanni had asked for too much power in the New World he was helping Tanaka create and Tanaka was not very interested in sharing, especially with a normal human. After Tanaka's betrayal the remaining Rockets were instructed to join Tanaka or die. After Tanaka's downfall the remaining Rockets were either arrested or scattered like ants. Since then no one had heard from Team Rocket. However Gary felt it would be easier to get Red and Ethan to agree to help if he let them think they had permanently defeated Team Rocket.

Gary then turned to Brendan, "Brendan you were once Rayquaza's trainer, you know his strengths and weaknesses better than any of us…" Gesturing to Lucas he said, "Lucas while every trainer in Sinnoh was powerless against Tobias to you he was just another opponent and like all your other opponents he fell." He then turned to Hilda. "Hilda, your heart was so strong that when Team Plasma stood to rule the world Zekrom appeared for you and together you saved us all. You five are the strongest trainers that have ever lived. You are the world's best hope. So will you band together and fight Rayquaza?"

He was quite surprised with how quickly Red answered. "I will." When he saw Gary's confused look he continued. "Since I became Champion life has become boring. The challenges I lived for all disappeared. Every fight I entered I knew I could win. My vitality was briefly restored when Ethan defeated me and again when I met the other three champions but still there remain only four trainers on this earth capable of defeating me. Life is still pathetically predictable. But this, the chance to battle a level 100 Legendary Pokémon, might be momentarily interesting. Plus I don't want him to kill everyone but that's a given. I'm sure you four agree right?" The other Champions all nodded in quick agreement.

Gary smiled. He figured it would be about this easy to convince all of them. The Five Champions were all very heroic and loved challenges. "I'm happy to hear that. Now let's come up with a battle strategy."

"One condition" interjected Red. Gary simply raised his eyebrow. "You don't think I didn't recognize Ash's face on the news did you? He and his Pikachu fought Rayquaza by themselves and didn't do too bad. Before we go any further I'd like to tell us everything you know about how they were able to do that."

Meanwhile Sato's training was beginning. Sir Aaron was trying to figure out where to start. Aaron asked, "So exactly how much experience with Japanese martial arts do you have?"

Sato answered, "Well my dad's been teaching me jujutsu mostly as a way to protect myself so I know throws and joint locks and stuff."

Aaron replied, "What about punches and kicks and other strikes?"

Sato laughed lightly, "My mom didn't want my dad turning me into a thug so she wouldn't really let him teach me stuff like that. He did kind of start teaching me karate in secret recently but we haven't had much time to work on it."

Aaron then asked, "Ok what about sword fighting?"

Sato answered, "We have done a little bit of that, more than we've done with the karate. We've practiced with those bamboo swords, uh shinai I think they're called."

Aaron nodded as he constructed the plan of training in his head. "Ok. We're going to cover everything we can of course but we need to address your weaknesses first. Most of the time with teenagers like you the problem is severe overconfidence and they need to be taught the more gentle defensive moves of jujutsu. But you need to develop more confidence. We need to teach you the hard powerful strikes. Normally focusing on brute strength isn't very enlightening but you already have enough self-control and gentleness. You could do with a little more aggression and power. Also, since you've already fought with shinai you need to get used to the weight of a real sword."

Aaron's assessment made sense to Sato. If he was going to get stronger it was a sensible approach to focus on his weaknesses. He was a little weary about the idea of practicing sword fighting with real swords. "Wait how am I supposed to practice with a real sword? Well at least without one of us ending up chopped into a million bite-sized pieces."

Aaron chuckled. "We aren't in the physical realm anymore remember? At the moment you don't have any blood or vital organs. The body you see yourself in is an illusion designed to look and feel like your body. And look at this!" He then lifted his sword with his right hand and cut it across his left forearm. Instead of blood a subdued, blue glow covered the surface of the cut. He then cut off his left hand completely. The hand disintegrated into blue light which quickly vanished. His left hand reappeared on his wrist in a flash of white. "When we spar that's what will happen."

"Cool!" was the first thing Sato said. It seemed like the perfect training, all the experience of deadly combat with none of the risks. "So does that mean if we kill each other we'll be fine?"

In answer Aaron used his sword to make a clean cut across his neck. Bright light shone from the cut that eventually spread throughout his entire body. He completely crumpled apart into bits of light. A few seconds after completely disappearing his body reformed perfectly in the same flash of white his hand did. "We don't have to worry about hurting each other. There's no need to hold back while we train."

"That's pretty cool" Sato said. "It's like a video game." He wondered if Aaron knew what video games were.

Aaron chuckled and said, "I guess. But before we spar I need to teach you how to use your powers. You won't always have the staff; you need to be able to fight without it. Now we need a framework for that. You can already use telepathy independent of the staff right?" Sato nodded. "That's impressive. Telepathy is usually one of the hardest skills for young Guardians to master. Given your intellectual nature it isn't so unusual though. If you're more adept at using your mental powers then there's a chance that means you'll have difficulty using your physical ones like your super strength and making Aura Spheres. Luckily the physical and mental sides of your powers are connected."

"They are?" Sato asked. He hadn't been expecting that.

"Yes you see…" Aaron began and then trailed off. "…Actually it would be better if I just explained the basics of how your powers worked. Pay attention. Now the first thing you need to understand is that humans are actually Pokémon."

That was possibly the strangest statement Sato had ever heard. "What does that mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like it means" Aaron answered. "Humans are fundamentally another species of Pokémon, to be specific a combination of Fighting and Psychic types. It's really quite simple. By learning to use your powers as a Guardian of Aura you are simply learning to use the natural abilities you were born with the same as when any trainer trains any Pokémon."

Sato wasn't quite sure if Aaron was serious. Certainly there were some species of Pokémon that resembled humans but humans were much different from Pokémon. "If that's true then why don't all humans have access to these powers?"

"They used to" Aaron said. "You see at the beginning of human evolution our earliest ancestors weren't much smarter than most Pokémon. Like any other species they possessed special powers that they drew from their aura. It would have been difficult to distinguish them from any other humanoid species of Pokémon in fact. At that time al species of Pokémon existed in harmony with nature. However, the world was incomplete. All its creatures lived solely for the sake of survival. There was no deeper meaning to life or at least none that could be found by anyone alive at the time. Therefore the most intelligent species, the human, was selected and granted sentience. At first it seemed great; humans became able to deeply analyze the nature of everything and to truly understand its significance but with the gift of intelligence came corruption. Because humans possessed both superior intelligence and superpowers they were at an inconceivably huge evolutionary advantage. It became impossible for any other species to compete against them for food, water, or territory. For a while it looked as if humans were going to drive all other species of Pokémon extinct. What's more the humans had no compassion for the species they competed against; they may have been sentient but they still possessed their animal instincts. Their drive to survive at all costs overpowered their empathy for the other species they killed or drove to starve. The balance of nature was clearly completely distorted and life might have ceased to exist if the humans continued to be allowed to flourish and grow as rapidly as they already were. For this reason a natural spiritual lock was placed in all humans that prevented them from being able to use their powers. All humans are born with this lock. That way humans only have one significant evolutionary advantage and the balance of power between them and other Pokémon is more or less restored. You see when the Tree of Beginning judged you worthy of being a Guardian of Aura it didn't give you powers; it removed the lock on your soul that prevented you from using them. Learning to use your powers is a natural as learning how to walk. You are fulfilling nature's design for you. "

Sato might have fallen down if he was any more surprised. He had never once dreamed of anything like that. "Are you serious? I always had powers?"

Aaron nodded. "Yep, you were born with them. Everyone is."

Sato tilted his head in mild astonishment. "Huh, seems like such a waste. Everyone has this gift but no one uses it."

Aaron nodded. "It does seem like a waste doesn't it? But the power of a Guardian in the wrong hands can be disastrous. Tanaka certainly proved that. However it is still a lot of wasted potential. After all if the power of a Guardian in the wrong hands can cause great evil surely the power of a Guardian in the right hands can cause great good. That's why it was decided that some humans should be allowed to use their powers but only those who could be trusted to not abuse them. I was the first human ever granted this privilege. Before I became a Knight of Cameran Palace I was a simple monk living in solitude who made the Tree of Beginning his home. When the Tree and Mew sensed the compassion I had in my heart for all the Pokémon that lived there and decided to remove the lock on my soul. Not only that but soon after I met Lucario and he became my partner the Tree decided to bless him with sentience and the ability to speak. After my self-sacrificial death when I used my power to save thousands of innocent lives they decided it would do the world good to allow more people with kind hearts to have their powers restored so very soon after my death my son journeyed to the Tree and had his unlocked and had his Syther blessed with sentience. The Tree and Mew are two very pure beings with a deep connection to the spiritual plane so they are the perfect agents to judge souls of worthiness and to undo the lock. All Pokémon are worthy of being blessed because they are all naturally pure of heart but only the Pokémon who are partners with Guardians and are thus Guardians themselves are given it. "

The idea seemed to make sense. There was no point in making the humans who could be trusted with power go without it because some humans would abuse and it made sense that the Pokémon of these people would be the safest ones to give intelligence. Still one part of the explanation didn't quite add up to him. "Wait if only humans that won't abuse their power have their lock removed then why was Tanaka a Guardian of Aura? Or for that matter why is his daughter one? Why are there evil Guardians at all?"

Aaron held up his index finger. "That is a complicated question with a complicated answer. First of all, the lock on Tanaka's soul was never removed; he was never judged worthy of being a Guardian. He got his powers from his father. You see Tanaka was considered a disgrace to his clan for being unable to become a Guardian. His father was unable to bear the shame so when the time came that he was near death he transferred his spiritual energy into Tanaka's body. This is a common technique used by Guardians to share strength with those who have been weakened or to heal the injured but Tanaka's father took it one step too far. He transferred all of his aura's spiritual energy into his son, more than any creature can live without and died. With the aura that produced it no longer in the physical plane his spiritual energy had no other aura to cling to but Tanaka's so it stayed with him. Therefore all of the strength of Tanaka's father became his even though he had not earned it. Now as to why his daughter is a Guardian…she was judged worthy."

Sato was very shocked but Growlithe expressed his opinions before he had the chance. "_What? How could she be worthy? She's the most evil person I've ever met!_"

Lucario decided to be the one to answer his student. "_Be careful Growlithe. People are complicated: attempting to label them as either good or evil never works out._"

Growlithe seemed incredulous. "_She wants to kill Sato and his family how is that not evil?_"

Aaron said, "If you knew what was going inside her head you probably wouldn't judge her so harshly Growlithe. She's had a difficult life. It would be hard for you to blame her for the way she is if you knew everything that she has been through." His voice contained the same kindness for Elita that it had for Sato and Growlithe.

Sato was intrigued. "Really, like what?"

Aaron hesitated to speak for a moment. "…Uh…no I don't think we should tell you. That would violate her privacy. She wouldn't like that."

Growlithe's voice sounded very sarcastic. "_Oh well we wouldn't want to hurt her feelings now would we?_"

Aaron chuckled slightly. "Growlithe I know she can be very cruel but you need to realize that you understand very little about her. She isn't exactly what you would call evil as hard as it is to believe. Her abrasive personality really isn't her fault."

"_Then who's is it?_" Growlithe asked, clearly unconvinced.

"Her mother's" Aaron said simply. "That's all I'll say about it."

Sato and Growlithe were both clearly taken back by this statement, as well as by the seriousness that Aaron spoke it with. Now that he thought of it, Sato realized Elita had never mentioned her mother at all. She only spoke obsessively of avenging her father. She had never said a single word about her mother much less mentioned who she was or how she knew Tanaka. Given Masao's statement that Elita seemed to take after her mother more than Tanaka Sato could only assume that whoever her mother was must have greatly resembled Elita. Elita probably inherited her yellow hair and blue eyes from her. Given Aaron's statement she was also apparently the person Elita picked up her cruelty from. Perhaps that was why she never mentioned her. It did seem to make sense; any woman who reproduced with the most evil Guardian of Aura ever likely was not very nice herself. He wondered if her mother was the one who motivated Elita to seek revenge for Tanaka.

Aaron spoke again, dropping the subject of Elita completely. "In answer to the third part of your question, about how evil Guardians can exist at all, Lucario is right; people are too complicated to be labeled as good or evil. The noblest Guardian who was ever born still had evil in his heart and the darkest Guardian still had good in it. Your question is still valid though, the Tree is supposed to only unlock the powers of those individuals who will not abuse it, of the worthy. You see a bitter truth that we Guardians have always had to face is that someone who was worthy to be a Guardian at the time they were judged can cease to worthy later."

"Really?" Sato asked. "That's weird. It makes judging them seem pretty pointless."

"I see what you mean" said Aaron. "Power corrupts. The power of a Guardian can ironically change the pure heart that earned it. The Tree attempts to judge those who will not be corrupted but even the Tree's power has limits. People are complex and unpredictable. It's impossible to know for sure whether or not they will become corrupted. But it's not just about corruption. The Tree also judges if the power will bring out someone's true potential as a human being. You see the way power works is that it brings out either the worst in someone or the best in them. It depends on the individual person which one comes out. Like with you for example; when you came back to begin your training I noticed you were already much stronger than when we first met. Your confidence has finally began to blossom. Becoming a Guardian seems to suit your soul well."

Sato smiled. "I guess it does."

Aaron nodded. "Oh and there's one more thing you should know. It has always been a bitter truth that someone who was once worthy to be a Guardian can cease to be worthy but it has also always been an inspirational truth that someone who ceased to be worthy can become worthy again."

Sato hadn't expected that. "Really?"

Aaron nodded. "People are complicated. You can't define them based only on past actions. There will always be more to a person than what you can see with your two eyes." Sato nodded. "Now we've been standing here talking long enough. Let's actually try to get some training in." He swiftly unsheathed his sword. "Defend yourself!"

Aaron's sudden boldness frightened Sato. "Wow, wow aren't you going to teach me _how_ to fight first?"

"No better teacher than experience" Aaron said simply.

"But I'm not any stronger or faster than a normal human! You'll pound me into the dust!"

Aaron looked honestly surprised. "You haven't accessed your super speed or strength at all yet?"

"I'm a mental oriented person remember?"

Aaron slapped his own forehead. "Right silly me. You're more adept at using your mental than your physical powers. We can use that though. All right you know how to talk to people with your mind right?" Sato nodded. "Do you know how to make it so only one person hears you're telepathic thoughts, the person that you want to hear it?"

Sato nodded again. "Masao showed me it's not that hard. All you do is focus on that person's mind and nothing else; doing that blocks out other people's thoughts."

Aaron was impressed. "Most young Guardians don't consider that easy. You certainly are unusual. This will help us unlock your physical power though. Have you ever had a telepathic conversation where you blocked out all potential eavesdroppers?"

Sato nodded. "I have them with Growlithe all the time. No one else seemed to hear them. And when I focused only on Growlithe I didn't hear their thoughts like I normally do when I use telepathy. Before whenever I used it everyone's thoughts would float around in the air. But when I focus on only Growlithe they disappear."

"Then you probably did it right" said Aaron. "All right let's give this a shot. Do exactly what you did with Growlithe but with your own mind."

"What?" asked Sato.

"Focus on your own mind the way that you focus on Growlithe's? Just give it a shot. Close your eyes, project your consciousness out into the air, then turn it inwards."

Sato nodded calmly. He wasn't exactly sure if this would work or what Aaron was trying to do but he knew he had a better chance of doing this right than of using super strength. He closed his eyes. He projected his thoughts out into the air like he did whenever he spoke telepathically. With no target to latch onto the thoughts stayed in the air. He turned them around and focused them on his own brain, acting as if it was a separate entity from these thoughts. The thoughts latched onto his mind firmly.

There was a sudden pulse, almost as if Sato's heart skipped a beat. His eyes remained shut but he saw something now. It was a person or at least the shape of a person. His body had no surface, no face or skin but rather was a glowing mass of blue light that seemed to be held in by a human-shaped container. The center of his body contained a circular glowing mass that seemed to be where the rest of the light was coming from. The entire outside of his body was covered in blue flames.

"_This is your aura_" said Aaron telepathically. "_The light in your center is its focal point. The stomach is the center of energy in your body. The fire is your excess spiritual energy, the energy that transforms into physical energy when you do work. Most humans have no control over their excess spiritual energy but you can. You're also able to use more of your total energy than humans typically can. You can move the excess energy to a certain point and concentrate it. This is how Pokémon perform moves. For example when Growlithe uses Flamethrower he transfers his spiritual energy into his mouth and transforms it into the physical energy of heat. He isn't consciously aware of it though, it's second nature to a Pokémon. It can become second nature to you as well though. Try moving as much of the fire as possible to your right arm. You'll instantly feel it become much stronger._"

"_How do I move it?_" Sato asked.

"_The energy belongs to you. Your soul made it. It will listen to you. Just concentrate on your right arm as hard as you possibly can._"

Sato lifted his right hand in front of his face. It looked as if it already held a large amount of fire within it. It was almost hard to believe that it wasn't enough to already make it super strong. But if it was the amount of fire in his arm it obviously couldn't have been much compared to most people. Sato closed his hand tightly into a fist and focused as hard as he could. He concentrated only on his right arm and ignored the rest of his body. He concentrated on it the way he concentrated on a mind. Slowly more fire inched its way into his arm. He could feel all the fire in his body moving from where it was over to his right shoulder at a sluggish pace. It cost him a great deal of effort; he had to concentrate incredibly hard to move the fire at all. He began feeling winded as if he had just run two miles without stopping. Still only a small amount of fire had made it into his arm. He kept concentrating, but with each additional second it was apparent he wouldn't be able to for much longer. He clenched his fist tightly. Finally, all of the fire that would move was inside of his arm and when he tried to focus more, no more fire came. He gasped in relief and his eyes opened.

He locked at his right arm. It was glowing with blue fire and its muscles had engorged to at least twice their size. He still had to concentrate to hold the energy in it and felt as if his arm would bust.

"Let's give it a try" Aaron said and snapped his finger. A large boulder materialized out of nowhere and floated in front of Sato's face. "Smash it!"

"What?" Sato said, surprised.

"You have enough energy, release it! Punch the rock!"

Sato knew he had to let the energy out somehow. He had no time to wonder how insane the request was. He slammed his fist into the boulder. It broke into dozens of fragments. All of the energy instantly left his arm. He instantly collapsed to his knees. He was more tired than he had ever been in his life. He gasped for air. His arm was extremely sore and its muscles were very swollen. Cleary he had used all of the strength his body had to offer. He did notice however that his knuckles did not feel at all injured; evidently the energy had protected them from the impact.

"Well this isn't good" Aaron observed. "You did well transferring the energy from the rest of your body to your arm but you weren't able to hold it in. You used it up all in one shot and it was clear you didn't have much control over it. What's more you already used up almost all the excess energy in your body. You have barely anything left other than your vital life force. If you used any more energy you might have killed yourself. Luckily it takes much more effort to turn your vital life force into physical energy than your extra energy so it's almost impossible to do by accident. But the problem we have here is that it's pretty apparent you don't have that much extra energy in your body. You need much more."

Sato continued panting and found himself without the energy to stand up. He tried to talk but his lips wouldn't move; they continued to suck in as much air as possible. So instead he spoke with his mind. "_How do I get more? Oh I guess I still have enough energy to speak telepathically._"

"Telepathy doesn't require a lot of energy," said Aaron, "just the ability to control it. You lack that same control when it comes to your physical abilities though. You need more energy to work with in order to master it and there's only one way to get it; with physical exercise. The stronger your body gets the more excess energy your aura will contain and you don't have the same physical limits as other humans so you can increase your excess energy exponentially."

Sato was afraid he would say that. As he continued gasping for breath he said, "_That won't be easy. I never was very athletic._" Even when his father had taught him martial arts he had never emphasized physical conditioning over technique. He had never spent much time exercising.

"I've noticed" Aaron said. He didn't sound judgmental though. "And the best way to make you stronger is to focus on your weaknesses. We'll start our training by focusing on physical conditioning."

As he remained wheezing on the ground Sato felt less than enthusiastic. _Great now my epic quest to master my superpowers has turned into gym class. _

Meanwhile Sue was standing by herself on the beach, overlooking the ocean. It was her favorite place to go. She also felt most calm by the water. She was like her mother in that regard. It was one reason she loved living in Pallet Town. It wasn't a tropical city but there was still a small seashore that lead to Route 21 to the south of it. Misty had told Sue that this ocean route lead directly to Cinnabar Island. When she needed to clear her head Sue would often see if she could find it. Sometimes on especially clear days she thought she could see the faint outline of the Cinnabar volcano but today the fog was too thick. It seemed fitting; today no matter how much sea air she breathed in or how many sand dollars she found, Sue's outlook wasn't getting any less bleak.

She was so worried. Her strong father was going to be killed. He had always been mighty enough to chase away all the things that frightened her whether they were the monsters hiding in her closet, the loud thunder that boomed during a storm, or her fear of falling off her bike the first time she rode it without training wheels. Even if he couldn't make these things go away he also made them less scary. But now there was something he couldn't make better, something that tore away at her every day. Rayquaza a horrible, powerful dragon Pokémon had beaten the father she had always thought of as invincible. Not only that but he had done it easily. Her protector was gone. And soon Rayquaza would try to destroy the rest of the world. If her father couldn't stop him nobody could. She and the rest of her family were going to die soon. She was so incredibly afraid.

She kept picturing the day he would come. Her mother would be standing in front of her and Kenny with her arms thrown open to protect her children. Only death would make her move. She might also have to hold back Kenny with one arm. She pictured him as having one hand tightly balled into a fist and shouting threats at Rayquaza. He would obviously be standing in front of her and trying to protect her. Her father of course will have long been dead at this point.

And Sato…

What would Sato be doing? Before Sue wouldn't have had difficulty imagining this; he probably would be wrangling Kenny in and standing over both siblings with his arms wrapped over them to use his body as a shield. Now she wasn't so sure. Everyone kept talking about how Sato had been chosen to be the one to go rescue her father. Does that mean that if he was there when Rayquaza came he would be expected to fight? Sue didn't like that. Sato was gentle. He didn't like fighting. There were so many times when Ash had offered to teach him martial arts moves that would help him be able to beat Junior up. Sato never took him up on his offer. He hated confronting Junior at all. He never wanted to fight or argue with him. He'd rather avoid him. He only fought him once to protect Growlithe. He may have hated Junior but he was much too kind a person to ever want to beat him up. That's what Sue loved about him.

Kenny was a definitely a great older brother. He was confident and protective and loyal. But the fact was that he didn't understand Sue as well as Sato did. He wouldn't let anything hamper his confidence; he would always insist there was no reason to be afraid. There was something comforting in that; it did show Sue that no matter how scary things got there would always be someone who would be brave enough to face but that wasn't always enough to make her feel better. She couldn't just brush off her fears the way Kenny did. She knew it was better to be brave but she just couldn't do it. But Sato was different. He was shy, more like her. He understood how she felt. Whenever she was afraid he would talk to her calmly. Somehow he could always figure out something to say that helped her feel better. He never judged her and never asked her to be brave when she didn't feel brave. He just understood. He would do things like reminisce about when he was her age that he would wait until their mother went to sleep and then turned his bedroom light back on because he didn't think the nightlight provided adequate protection from monsters and as a result didn't get a decent night's sleep until he was 10. He made her feel like she wasn't such a scaredy-cat, like being afraid or shy was normal.

And now she was afraid. Everyone wanted Sato to fight. He didn't like fighting, he wouldn't want to. It wasn't fair that everyone expected it of him. She was sure that it would make him miserable. But another possibility scared him even more. What if the fighting made his gentleness go away? What if because he became so used to overcoming the fear of death that he no longer had any patience for his little sister's tiny fears? The idea was almost as frightening as the idea of his death. Even her father, who had always made things seem less scary still wasn't quite as good at making her personally feel less scared. He made her feel protected from her fears but her fears were still there. Sato actually made her fears seem smaller. That's one reason why his disappearance filled her with dread while it gave others hope. She wished he was here to make her feel better but he wasn't. Instead he was facing mortal danger and now he might die or even change. It was hard for her to imagine something worse.

Still, something Kenny said did stick with her. She wasn't sure if Sato would make a good fighter or if he would want to but she did believe in him. She believed in his kindness. Even if she feared it part of her could never believe that even this situation could make his kindness leave him.

An odd sound caught her ear. It was a faint splashing off to the side. It was distinct from the push and pull of the tide. After a few seconds it didn't recede. She turned her head to the left and saw the source of the sound. A Feebas was flopping back and forth in a puddle of water that was about four feet away from the ocean. As Sue focused her eyes on the fish Pokémon she noticed that much of the puddle was a thick red color. Her heart sank and she ran toward the Feebas. He suspicions were confirmed. There was a large gash in its side that blood was leaking out of.

"Oh no!" she cried. "Are you ok?" The Feebas gave a weak cry. It was still conscious but badly hurt. "What happened to you?"

Her question was answered by a low growling sound. She looked up and saw three Sharpedo glaring at her. Clearly they were angry that she was blocking the way to their dinner. She immediately staggered back in horror and screamed. She was about to stand up and run but then…

But then…

She thought of Sato again. He was as familiar with fear as she was. He was shy and didn't like fighting. And yet when Growlithe needed someone to protect him he put all that aside and fought for Growlithe. If he was here he would protect that Feebas not let the Sharpedo kill it. So would Kenny. So would their father. So would their mother who loved Water Pokémon as much as she did. She didn't want to be the one member of her family who cared more about her fear than she did about Pokémon. She ran over to Feebas and covered it with her arms.

"Leave Feebas alone you bullies!"

One Sharpedo growled lowly then leapt. It rammed its head into her side and knocked her away from Feebas. It landed back in the water. Sue landed hard on her back and coughed up every buff of air in her lungs. Her side ached terribly. Now she was so much more afraid. Her body remained frozen. She didn't want to get back up. Then she felt the warm stickiness of Feebas' blood touching her ankle.

With great effort she pushed up to her knees then stood up. She was gasping for breath and kept her right hand on her side. It didn't feel like any of her ribs were broken. She looked right at the Sharpedo. They growled a warning. She knelt down and picked up a large stick that was on the ground. The same Sharpedo ducked down and prepared to attack again. She ran forward. The Sharpedo leapt into the air with its jaw opened widely almost as if it intended to bite off Sue's head. She pulled her arm back and prepared to put all her strength into striking it.

Out of nowhere a large rock flew through the air and hit the Sharpedo right in the nose. It was flung back into the water and shook its head in discomfort.

Sue turned around and saw Kenny standing behind her, his arm outstretched.

"What the _hell _are you doing?" he shouted. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Sue was too out of breath to speak so she pointed to Feebas as an answer.

Kenny seemed angry. "You're risking your life to protect a freaking fish?"

Regardless he ran forward and picked up another rock. He placed himself between Sue and the Sharpedo. The Sharpedo he had thrown the rock at was clearly angry and now had a bloody nose.

"Back off!" Kenny shouted. Sue had never seen him look angrier. "Anyone else want a broken nose?"

The Sharpedo to his left hunched over and prepared to bounce. He flung his arm forward and his rock found its mark. That Sharpedo roared in pain and staggered back. Unfortunately this left a huge opening for the uninjured Sharpedo to strike. It jumped up and flung its fin forward, using Slash. Kenny tried to jump back but was still snagged by the fin. Blood burst from his outstretched right arm.

"Kenny!" Sue shouted. She felt horrible. Her actions were the reason he was hurt. She ran forward, holding the stick up. "Leave my brother alone!"

He quickly turned around and pushed her to the ground with his left hand. "Stay out of this Sue" he ordered. "I can't let you get hurt."

That didn't make any sense to Sue. Why did it matter so much more if she got hurt than if he did? Was it because she was younger, because she was a girl? She didn't accept either reason.

"You got hurt because of me!" she shouted, tears flowing from her eyes.

"_I'm_ the older brother!" he roared. "It's my job to protect you! Now run! I'll distract them!"

Sue was horrified by the idea. "They'll _kill _you! I can't…"

"I said RUN!"

The Sharpedo he had struck first jumped up and opened its mouth. It came at him from the right side. He would be defenseless.

It was the worst moment Sue had ever experienced. She was already afraid of losing her father and oldest brother. Now she would lose her other brother. Even worse it was her fault. If she had just ignored Feebas or even grabbed it and ran as soon as she saw it maybe this wouldn't be happening. Instead she started this fight and because she was too young and weak he had to finish it for her. Now her beloved, fearless brother was moments away from death.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning burst forward and struck the attacking Sharpedo. It fell back into the water.

Sue was incredibly shocked. She turned around. "Pikachu?" she asked expectantly before she saw the hero. Had Pikachu returned from his quest to find Sato? Had he brought Sato back? But she was wrong; it was not her father's Pokémon partner who had protected Kenny. Instead she saw the frame of a tiny zebra stranding there.

"Blitzle!" the zebra shouted proudly. It had been this Pokémon's Shock Wave not Pikachu's Thunderbolt that had saved Kenny.

"A Blitzle!" shouted Kenny. He had wanted to be a Pokémon trainer like their father since he could walk so he already knew a bit about them. The Blitzle neighed in confirmation. Kenny knew that Blitzle were native to Unova and not Kanto. "But where's its trainer?" He looked around but saw no other people.

Another Sharpedo jumped up and tried to get Kenny while his back was turned. The Blitzle snorted and dashed forward, coating its body in electricity. Using Spark Blitzle knocked Sharpedo back into the water. It bobbed underwater but quickly resurfaced. All of the Sharpedo were clearly much angrier now. Blitzle was undaunted though. It remained fearless. All three of the Sharpedo ducked down and prepared to attack at the same time.

The Pokémon trainer inside Kenny took over. "Blitzle!" he shouted. "Aim your Shock Wave attack right at the water!" Using his left hand he pointed to a point in the water directly in between all of the Sharpedo. Blitzle seemed to respect Kenny's confidence. It charged up its Shock Wave and fired it at the point that Kenny aimed at. Kenny's plan worked perfectly. The water conducted and amplified Blitzle's attack. All three Sharpedo were electrocuted simultaneously. After a few seconds Blitzle stopped. All of the Sharpedo passed out and dropped to their sides, floating dazed on top of the water.

Blitzle stood on its hind legs and kicked the air happily, clearly proud of its power. "Way to go Blitzle!" Kenny shouted. Before he knew it all the wind was knocked out of him. He was ambushed by a giant hug from Sue.

She was crying. "I'm so sorry Kenny! It's all my fault you got hurt!"

Kenny wasn't angry anymore. He also didn't seem to blame her. "What this? This is nothing; a tiny paper cut that's all. It's nothing your big brother can't handle."

Blitzle neighed joyfully. It seemed like it was trying to reassure her as well. She then let go of Kenny and knelt down. "Thank you Blitzle." She hugged the tiny zebra. It seemed even happier.

"Kenny? Sue?" Misty's voice suddenly said. They turned around and saw their mother standing there with a Pokéball in her hand. Apparently she had been about to jump in and help when Blitzle showed up. She ran up to her children. "Oh my God are you two ok? Kenny your arm is bleeding! What happened?"

Kenny answered, "It was just a little run in with some Sharpedo."

"Why were the Sharpedo so angry?" she asked as she checked his arm.

Sue was surprised when Kenny didn't rat her out. "You know they're Sharpedo. They're just an angry bunch. To be honest I threw a rock in the water and it accidentally hit one of them." This added to her guilt. Not only did Kenny risk his life to protect her and get hurt but he was willing to also take the blame.

"That's a lie!" she quickly said.

Kenny knew what she was going to do. "It's ok Sue."

She wouldn't let him take any more burdens on his shoulders. "No it isn't! I provoked the Sharpedo. They were going to eat that Feebas over there so I tried to stop them. Kenny wasn't even here when they first attacked. He saw me being attacked and got hurt protecting me. It's my fault not his."

Rather than scolding the first thing Misty did was walk over to the Feebas. "This gash is bad" she said. "But she'll be fine if we get her to a Pokémon Center soon."

"It's a girl?" Kenny asked.

Misty nodded. "And that Blitzle is a boy. Do you know who he belongs to?"

Kenny shook his head. "He just showed up out of nowhere and started helping us."

Misty chuckled. "He's a lot like you Kenny; brave, confident and quick to jump into a fight and defend the weak, not to mention reckless. Speaking of which, we should get some disinfectant and a bandage on that arm. You're lucky; it didn't cut into muscle or bone. It's only a skin wound. But next time something worse could happen. You need to be more careful."

"I had to protect Sue" he said. Misty sighed in a very weary way. "Hey if Blitzle showed up every time I was in danger then you'd have nothing to worry about" he joked. Blitzle began neighing very excitedly.

Misty laughed. "Blitzle seems to like that idea. Maybe you should take him home."

"I can't" Kenny said. "He's not native to this region. He has to belong to someone."

"Not necessarily" Misty said. "Sometimes cargo ships come around here for trading. He might have stowed away on one of them. Here, see for yourself." She took out a new Pokéball and handed it to him. "If he belongs to someone then this won't be able to capture him."

"Really? I can keep him?" Kenny asked. It was too good to be true; his first Pokémon.

"There's no point pretending that you won't do something dangerous like this no matter how much I scream" Misty answered. "At least with a Pokémon by your side you'll be less likely to get hurt."

Kenny was very excited now. "WOW!" He turned to Blitzle. "Ok Blitzle do you want to stay with me and be my Pokémon partner?" Blitzle nodded boisterously. Kenny tapped the Pokéball on his head. Blitzle became red light and disappeared inside the ball. Because Blitzle agreed to be captured no time was necessary for it to be complete. "Yeah I caught a Blitzle!" Kenny shouted exactly the same way his father would, holding the Pokéball to his front. The Pokéball then burst open and Blitzle came out, looking frustrated. "Guess he doesn't like Pokéballs like dad's Pikachu." Blitzle nodded but his anger quickly disappeared.

"Mommy" Sue suddenly asked.

"Yes Sue?" said Misty.

"Can I please capture Feebas?" she asked. "I wasn't able to protect her so I want to take care of her." Misty was surprised by the suddenness of the request.

Kenny said, "Sue you don't want a Pokémon like that. A Feebas can't do anything they're weak."

"She'll be a beautiful Milotic if I take care of her" Sue protested. "I don't think anything is wrong with her now anyway. I want to take care of her. Please let me mommy."

Misty smiled. "Sure sweety." She pulled out another Pokéball and handed it to her daughter. Sue gently tapped Feebas' with it. If Feebas wanted to resist being captured she had no strength to. The ball quickly ceased fidgeting. "Let's get her to the Pokémon Center."

Kenny still wasn't enthused. "Sue come on are you sure you want that as your first Pokémon? I mean there so many better choices out there. A Feebas can't do anything and getting it to evolve is so much work. Why not just take it to the Pokémon Center and then throw it back into the ocean?"

Sue was not willing to even consider it. "She may be weak but it's not her fault. It's just bad luck. Everyone's always expected her to be weak just because of how she was born. But she can be so much better. She just needs someone to help her be strong, to show her how." She smiled and looked warmly into her brother's eyes. "The way that all of you do for me."

This comment seemed to please Kenny. "Oh all right. I guess if anyone can make something of this worthless little fish it's you."

She walked up to him and held his injured arm gently in her hands. "Thank you for protecting us again Kenny. I'm so sorry you got hurt."

Kenny merely laughed and shook her guilt off. "Please I'm your big brother! I'll happily get my arm cut _off _to protect you!"

Sue's lip quivered and she stared at her feet. "I don't want you to get hurt, especially because of me. I want you to be safe. I'm tired of you and daddy and Sato always being in danger. I want our family to be safe again." She started crying again.

Kenny was honestly surprised. His attempt to cheer his sister up had the opposite effect. He seemed at a loss for what to do next. He put his left hand on her shoulder. "Hey come on, it's ok."

Misty knelt down and hugged her daughter tightly. "It is ok sweety. Everything will be all right I promise."

Sue kept crying. "Why mommy? Why did this happen? Why did daddy and Sato have to and fight? Why is it their job to do all this dangerous stuff?"

Misty tried to be as calm and reassuring as possible. "Well they're protecting us the way that Kenny protected you. It's just…well they're older than he is and they're Guardians of Aura so the best way for them to protect us is to go out and get rid of the danger."

This didn't make her feel better. "Why? Why can't it be someone else's job?"

Misty kept her tone steady. Ironically she had asked herself this question many times before. She had to make an effort to stifle her tears. "…Well sweety…it's because they're the best two people in the world for this job. I've known your daddy since we were 10. He's always been courageous and kind to a fault. He's never been able to just stand by and let bad things happen to innocent people and Pokémon. He's always made me worry about him that's for sure but somehow no matter how dangerous the stunt he's always managed to pull through. In the end he always saves the day. He just has too strong of a heart for anything to kill him. And as for Sato…" She had to choke back a sob that almost came. It was harder to accept her child being in danger. She was used to Ash. "…As for Sato well he just has a really great head on his shoulders you know that. I love your father but I have to say the one part of him that he never seems to use is his head. The two of them together can do anything including save the world and come back alive." Sue merely kept crying. "Pikachu said it himself. They wouldn't have been sent on this mission if there wasn't hope. That's why he left to go find Sato. He's going to help them. Sato's not going to be on his own. Pikachu will guide him and to two of them will save your dad together. And Rayquaza won't even stand a chance against the three of them."

In between sobs Sue asked, "Do you really think Pikachu will find Sato?"

Misty answered, "Of course. He's a lot smarter than you think. After all he's a Guardian of Aura too. And he and your father have been best friends since the day I met them. He won't rest until our family is safe and sound. That's the great part about Pokémon; they're so loyal and dependable."

Sue calmed suddenly. She stepped back and looked at the Pokéball in her hand. "Mommy…do you think that one day Feebas will be as loyal to me as Pikachu is to daddy or as Growlithe is to Sato?"

Misty now smiled a wide and truly happy smile. "Of course dear; after everything you've already done for her I'm sure the two of you will be best friends."

Sue slowly wiped the tears from her face. "Let's get to the Pokémon Center. Feebas has waited long enough." She smiled.

Misty stood up. "You're right. Let's hurry. We'll also ask Nurse Joy if we can have some bandages and antibiotics for Kenny's arm too."

Sue nodded and looked at Feebas' Pokéball. "You're going to be just fine Feebas. I promise. Our house has a huge fish tank in the backyard where mommy lets her Pokémon swim. And I'll take care of you. Nothing bad will ever happen to you again, I promise. And day you'll be a beautiful Milotic." She began running off in the direction of the Pokémon Center.

"Hey wait up!" Kenny called. "You'll get into some kind of trouble if you go off by yourself again!" He ran after her with Blitzle running at his side,

Misty shook her head and laughed. _Blood running down his arm and the only thing he's thinking about is protecting his sister. And Sue…always so frightened and quiet but she risked her life to save that Feebas. These kids of mine…all of them are so brave and so selfless._ A startling thought entered her head and she let out a heavier sigh than she ever had before. _I can't help but wonder. Are all of them going to become Guardians of Aura eventually? I doubt that they wouldn't be worthy. Them as Guardians…they would be a gift to the world. But…but…to hell with the world! They're __**my **__babies! Ash is __**my **__husband! I put on a brave face to comfort my daughter but…I'm tired of everyone I love always being in danger too. Oh Ash why did you have to go and fight Rayquaza? I know you're a Guardian of Aura but when you fought Tanaka he almost killed you! _

She bit her lip as she remembered everything that had happened since she learned Ash was a Guardian. She wondered if the rescue crews were having any success trying to free him from the ice. Apparently Rayquaza's Ice Beam was so powerful that the ice Ash was trapped in was nearly impossible to break or melt.

_Rayquaza freezing you, Sato going missing, Kenny and Sue having to deal with this while they're still so young…that evil Guardian who killed your father and May's brother…and both of my parents; this Guardian of Aura thing has been nothing but trouble from day one. _She pictured the horrible, scarred face of Nobutada, Tanaka's right hand man. One eye was an unnaturally bright shade of blue and the other was a dark lifeless brown. Even before she had learned he was the reason she had lived her entire life as an orphan the sight of him had made her sick. His expression had no thought or depth, only hatred. When Ash had discovered he was his father's murderer and tried with all his power to avenge his father, Nobutada boasted over his crime and taunted Ash repeatedly. And when Ash had the opportunity to kill him and his kind heart prevented him from doing so Nobutada mocked him further and pummeled him while Misty watched. She already hated him so much after seeing that. Then when Mew revealed to her that Nobutada had killed her parents when she was just a baby because they were friends with Ash's father and Nobutada was trying to use them to find Ash and his grandfather there was no one she had ever hated more. However when she had heard that he had been killed during the failed invasion of Tanaka's forces it didn't lessen her grief. It didn't change the fact that she had never known her parents or undo the pain she had seen Ash go through. She was glad that Nobutada couldn't hurt them anymore though. She thought they were safe from him. But now it seemed like some new danger would always come. _I'm so sick of this! I want my family to be safe. I've already lost enough of it and so has Ash. I can't bear the thought of losing Ash or any of our children._

As she pondered this she realized that in her contemplation she had given Sue and Kenny time to put many hundred feet of road in between her and them. Kenny was still shouting for Sue to slow down. Misty couldn't help but laugh. _Well if I don't snap out of this I'm going to literally lose two of them. Dwelling on this isn't going to help. I'm not going to be able to make myself stop worrying about the future, but I need to focus on the here and now. I've still got two of my children here with me and they're growing into wonderful people. They need me and I'll be here for them. _She looked up at the sky. _Ash I don't like any of this especially that you and Sato are the ones that all of this is placed on but I do believe in you. No matter how bad things get you've always found a way. I'm worried but I swear that I won't stop helping you and I won't stop taking care of our family. _

As she said this she thought of the two other members of her family that she couldn't watch over at the moment.

_Oh Pikachu please find Sato soon! And please take care of him!_


	14. Growth

Sato stood hunched over his knees gasping for air. His right hand had a very loose grip on his sword. His entire body was drenched in sweat.

"Again!"

Sato barely heard the command. He was still fighting the uphill battle to catch his breath.

"Again Sato." Aaron was never an impatient teacher though he did sound somewhat annoyed.

Sato merely continued panting as he heard dozens of beads of sweat hit the ground after falling from his forehead. He was surprised he was even standing.

Aaron sighed lightly. "Sato we've been training for a while now. You haven't even landed a single hit on me yet. You really need to kick it up a notch if you ever want to win."

Sato was barely able to take in the amount of air his lungs demanded of him. He didn't have any to spare on talking so he spoke with telepathy as he always did in this situation. "_I'm totally exhausted. I've used up all of my strength already._"

Aaron never listened when Sato made claims like that. "If you're able to stand you obviously haven't used everything you've got. You can't give up whenever you get tired. You'll be tired or hurt in most of the battles you fight. Death won't wait for you to catch your breath. You have to be able to fight even if you have less than one percent of your strength left."

Sato still didn't get up. "_100 percent of my strength is still way less than one percent of most people's_."

Now Aaron sounded a bit angry. "Stop that. Self-doubt is the ultimate handicap in battle. It stops you from putting your heart and soul into fighting. There will be some opponents that you can only defeat if you use literally _all _of your power but you will always be incapable of doing that if you hold yourself back. Your opponent will already be trying to defeat you; he doesn't need you to give him any help."

Sato still felt too tired to move. "_Ok then can't you restore my strength back to normal so I can put 100 percent into this_?"

Aaron was adamant. "No. In real life you won't be able to hit the reset button whenever you start losing. That's why I never restore your strength until after I've 'killed' you. You can't rely on the fact that there are no real consequences in here. There _will _be real consequences out there! You can't give up! You have to keep fighting no matter how hard it is!"

"_Why? So I can just keep losing? I haven't gotten any better since we started._" Sato couldn't even remember how much time had passed since his training began.

"I'm a lot older and more experienced than you!" Aaron objected. "Losing to me doesn't make you weak. It would be astounding if you could actually beat me! But you're not doing as well as you could. You need to try harder. Where's your competitive spirit?"

"_If I ever had one it was beaten out of me by a lifetime of being a loser._"

Aaron was even angrier now. "The only thing that makes you a loser is that you accept defeat before you even start fighting. You don't believe you can win and that means you never will. You have to honestly try to have any hope. Now attack me!" He flipped his hand up and used telekinesis to force Sato to stand up straight.

Sato rose and looked at Sir Aaron. The sparing match had left no mark on the ancient Guardian. He had not broken a sweat, his breathing was normal, and there was not a single cut on his body. What's more he stood much taller and was a great deal bigger than Sato. Sato did not see it as at all possible that he could win against him. But he figured if he at least landed a hit or two then maybe Aaron would let him take a break.

He gripped his sword with both hands. At the very least he had gotten so used to holding it that at this point its weight felt like nothing in his hands, not that it did him much good. He knew he would have to run at Aaron to get enough momentum to possibly land a successful hit. His chest tightened in anticipation. This did not help his already restricted breathing. He took a deep breath and charged forward with his sword held up. As he reached Aaron he swung his blade diagonally. Aaron stood as stern and unmoving as a statue. His arms were hanging limply to his side. Anticipating a powerful block, parry or counterstrike, Sato's arms faltered and his sword slid to the slide.

"What was that?" asked Aaron. "Your opponent was wide open. He didn't avoid, stop or counter your attack. Why is he still alive?"

Sato looked away from Sir Aaron in guilt. He had clearly disappointed him.

Aaron answered his own question. "You weren't expecting the attack to hit were you? You started it believing you would fail."

Sato realized every word Aaron was saying was true. Sato expected every single one of his attacks to fail because all of them had failed in the past. Every time he swung his sword he fully believed it would not touch Aaron. He stared at his feet in shame. "I'm sorry" he said.

"Don't be sorry, just change it!" Aaron insisted. "If you don't like it do something about it! Don't just sulk, that doesn't get anything done!"

Sato bowed his head lower.

Aaron sighed heavily and turned around. He raised his left hand to his chin in thought as he held his sword in his right hand. "You need more motivation. Every time I try to talk you up it just brings you down more. You're so resigned to defeat that the allure of winning isn't enough to rouse you. And you have no reason to fight harder because there are no real consequences to losing." He took a deep breath. "I guess I know what I have to do. Sorry about this Sato. Remember that everything I'm doing I'm doing for your own good."

He turned around suddenly. His left hand was balled into a tight fist. His expression was uncharacteristically serious. "Defend yourself!" Without warning he slammed his fist into Sato's face. Sato was completely flabbergasted. He flew back at least a dozen feet and landed hard on his face. As he pushed up on his knees he felt a deep throbbing in his right cheek. He placed his hand on his cheek and felt a strange looseness. Without warning he spat up the glowing blue liquid that had replaced his blood along with three of his teeth. The teeth quickly disintegrated into light. He felt a pounding ache in his mouth deeper than any physical pain he had ever known.

"What the HELL are you doing?!" he shouted. This was the first time Aaron had ever attacked him with anything besides his sword and he had never put this much force into his attacks before.

Aaron ran over to him quickly. "Too slow to stand up!" He swung his right foot back and then kicked Sato very hard in the stomach. Sato roller over several times and landed on his back.

He coughed and more of the artificial blood sprayed from his mouth. The kick had completely knocked the wind out of him. "Stop!" he shouted.

"Your opponent won't stop when you ask!" Aaron said. He leapt 20 feet into the air. "If you have a problem with the pain then do something about it! You're the only one who can!" He lifted his leg above his head. Sato recognized this as the beginning of an ax kick. Aaron had went over many basic strikes with him and he had a basic understanding of them. Aaron flung his heel downwards, preparing to strike Sato's head. Sato gasped. He knew he couldn't ask Aaron to stop. He rolled over onto his front, quickly got to his feet and jumped forward. Aaron's kicked missed him by inches.

"Better" Aaron praised. "You're at least acting. But it's not enough! I'm still uninjured and I'm still coming!" He still held his sword in his right hand so he used his left again. He threw his fist forward. Sato jumped back fearfully and wind from the punch grazed his face.

"Good reflexes" Aaron said with a sinister smile. He brought his right foot up and kicked Sato in the chin. Sato was flung upward and landed very hard on his back. Now his body gasped for breath with desperation, not mere tiredness. It was clinging to anything that could help it survive. "This is what a real fight feels like, the exhaustion, the pain. The only way to stop it is to stop me. You must take away my strength. If you want the pain to stop, if you want to be able to rest, then WIN! FIGHT!"

Sato was desperate. His entire head was aching. The taste of blood filled his mouth; the glowing substance may have been less messy but it tasted the same when it touched his tongue. He could barely breathe. He needed relief. He knew Aaron wasn't going to give it to him with a fatal blow that would reset his strength back to normal; he was intentionally trying to not do that. He knew Aaron wouldn't stop out of mercy; he wasn't doing any damage to his real body. He was causing pain and nothing else. There was truly only one way he could stop the pain.

He turned to his side then leapt to his feet. He grasped his sword firmly in his hands. If Aaron was going to continue using hand to hand combat then it was his only advantage.

Aaron approached him and pulled his left fist back. He seemed aware of Sato's new determination. "I wonder if I can punch hard enough to crack your skull. Let's find out."

Sato's fear intensified. He knew the next blow would be the most terrible. If he tried to dodge then Aaron would simply hit him with a consecutive strike. He had to land a hit before Aaron's attack landed. It was the only way.

Sato let out a yell and charged forward. With every ounce of strength he had left Sato thrust his katana at Aaron's exposed left side. As Aaron threw his fist forward he turned right into the sword. The thrust pierced through the left side of his chest.

Complete shock was Sato's first reaction; firstly, because his attack landed so well, and secondly because no counterstrike came from Aaron.

Aaron's breathing was labored now. He strained to speak. "Excellent; you pierced right through my heart…I should be dead in a matter of…" As if on cue his body vanished in flashes of light. It immediately reappeared, completely healed.

Aaron smiled happily. His lightheartedness had returned. "Much better! You finally attacked me for real! You had an opportunity to win and you took it! I knew there was a fighter inside of you. We just had to bring him out."

Sato breathed much heavier than before. His previous fatigue and injury were now completely insignificant by comparison. He wiped some sweat from his forehead. "Well I'm glad you were gentle while bringing him out."

"Hey nothing else was getting through to you" Aaron said with humorous defensiveness. "I had to motivate you somehow. And there are some things that make every creature fight; fear and pain. I said I was sorry after all. And it's not like it was child abuse anyway; you agreed to the training and your physical body is still completely undamaged. But hey, I'll make you a deal."

Sato was intrigued, "A deal?"

Aaron nodded. "If you promise to fight as hard as you did back there, then I promise not to fight as hard as I was until you're good enough to handle it. Deal?"

Sato had to admit this situation sounded better than what just happened. "All right deal."

Aaron smiled. "Here, a peace offering." He snapped his fingers and light briefly surrounded Sato. All of his pain and exhaustion instantly vanished. Sato felt his right cheek. The missing teeth were pushing against his skin. He felt them with his tongue; they had definitely reformed exactly as they were before. "I'm sorry I had to play rough. It did help you though. You did much better. Your best is much better than you think it is. In the future it won't be that easy to defeat me though, after all I wasn't using my sword. Next time you'll have to work much harder for your victory but that'll make it even more satisfying.."

Sato shrugged. "Fair enough; I have to admit landing that hit on you and stopping that beating did feel pretty good. It made me feel like I actually had some control over what was happening, like I wasn't helpless."

Aaron smiled proudly. "You do have control. You control your destiny. You have the power to choose between being a loser or something stronger. That's why you need to work hard and do your best; otherwise you're cheating yourself by wasting your potential."

Sato nodded. He spoke quietly, "I guess I've gotten so used to being picked on I never thought of there being anything I could do about it. I never even considered beating Gary up as a solution. I always thought even if I could it wouldn't help. I would still be the loser and he would be the one above me."

Aaron seemed happy that Sato was talking about the source of his insecurity. "That's because you still believed that what he said about you was true. If in your heart you believed that you were a loser then you were. But if you have the confidence and strength of spirit to know that he is wrong then nothing he can say can hurt you, his words become nothing more than noise." Aaron chuckled. "Just like with your little friend Elita. She reinforced all of your insecurities so you never got mad at anything she said. As a result she knew she had complete power over you, a fact she reveled in. When you defied her you broke the hold she had over you."

Sato nodded and smiled. "That did feel good, believing she was wrong, not feeling like she could make me feel three inches tall just by opening her mouth." He then snickered. "And the look on her face when I stood up to her was priceless. I sure surprised her!"

Aaron laughed mischievously. "It sounds like you have a crush on her."

Sato blushed and it felt like he swallowed his stomach. "What?! Why would you say that?!"

Aaron seemed very amused. "Oh it's quite simple. First of all it seems like you still care what she thinks about you even though you aren't letting her crush your self-esteem every time she speaks anymore, like you wanted her to be impressed with you standing up to her. And second of all, probably the more obvious piece of evidence, you were incredibly embarrassed when I accused you of having a crush on her."

Sato's face couldn't have been redder even if he had spent the entire day in the desert with no sun screen on. He hid his face behind is hand and looked away nervously. "Did Growlithe tell you to say that?"

Aaron seemed honestly surprised. "Oh Growlithe picked up on it too? Now I'm even surer I'm right. He knows you better than anyone after all."

Sato groaned. "I shouldn't have said that." He was certain that Aaron and Growlithe singing 'Sato and Elita Sitting in a Tree' was in his near future.

What Aaron said next was much more surprising though. "I'm glad. I think you two could be good for each other." He sounded sincere.

Sato's shock overpowered his embarrassment. He looked up from his hand and his eyes met Aaron's. "R…really?" Aaron nodded with an encouraging smile. "But…she's our enemy isn't she?"

Aaron seemed completely undeterred by Sato's assessment. "There will always be more to someone than what you can see with your two eyes."

Suddenly a blast of flames crashed between the two of them and exploded. A second later Lucario leapt over both of their heads and threw an Aura Sphere in the direction the Flamethrower had come from.

"Watch it Lucario!" Aaron said.

Sato was happy for the distraction. "Yeah guys. There's plenty of room. Spar in your own space!"

"_Sorry lover-boy!_" Lucario shouted with a sly smirk as he jumped back towards Growlithe.

Sato buried his face in his hand and moaned. Aaron looked at him and chortled, "Ha! He's definitely lightened up a lot since he died. He never cracked jokes like that before."

"Lucky me" Sato mumbled.

Lucario's feet met that ground and he sped towards Growlithe. Growlithe opened his mouth and shot a wave of fire to intercept him.

"_Predictable strategy Growlithe; I've seen your Flamethrower a million times which means I've figured out a million ways around it_" Lucario criticized. He used his ExtremeSpeed and quickly ran to the side of the flames. Growlithe turned his head and redirected the attack to hit him. Lucario simply jumped over the Flamethrower and kept running forward as he landed. Now the gap between him and Growlithe was only a few feet. Growlithe whipped his head to the side again. Lucario did a front flip. Now he was too close for Flamethrower to possibly be effective. Growlithe closed his mouth and incased his body in flames. He had learned Flame Wheel during his training. He pounced at Lucario, intending to turn the momentum of his ExtremeSpeed against him by making him crash into a Fire type attack. Lucario easily saw this coming and quickly conjured a large, glowing, blue bone that he wielded like a staff. Using Bone Rush he slammed the edge of the bone down on Growlithe's head. With his focus broken Growlithe couldn't maintain the Flame Wheel and the fire dissipated from his body. Lucario then crashed directly into him, using the full force of his ExtremeSpeed. Growlithe was flung back several feet. Lucario quickly caught up to him while he was still soaring through the air. Using Close Combat he unleashed a barrage of powerful kicks and punches that ended the fight. When Growlithe landed his body vanished and then reformed a few feet away.

Growlithe snarled in frustration. "_Damn! Why can't I hit you?_"

Lucario did not appear tired at all. He sounded like a scolding teacher. "_You're definitely much stronger than when we first started but you're approach is too simplistic. It's true; you have access to a lot more raw power than most Pokémon at your level since you are able to control how much of your energy you put into an attack. You can either add much more power to an attack than it normally would have or you can use much less so that it wastes less energy. But that still isn't enough. I am a Steel type Pokémon which means I am vulnerable to Fire type attacks so you are smart for using them against me. However, the problem is that I am smart enough to realize that's what you are going to do. You use Flamethrower when we are separated and when I close the gap you either use Fire Fang or Flame Wheel. Because that is what you always do I always am able to anticipate your moves and counter them. It doesn't matter that you have the type advantage; you never hit me because I make sure of it. I know to prepare to doge your Flamethrower at long range and to prepare for you to pounce at close range. It's childishly simple and routine._"

"_So what am I supposed to do?_" Growlithe asked. "_Not use my fire?_"

"_I didn't say that_" Lucario responded. "_But your approach to fighting can't be nothing more than throwing fire at me and hoping some of it sticks. You have to find a way around my defenses, finding some way to make me leave myself open. You need to develop a strategy that lets you use your power to its maximum potential. _

"_Strategy?_" Growlithe repeated. "_Like Pokémon trainers have their Pokémon do?_"

Lucario nodded. "_Yes. Through strategy trainers are able to help their Pokémon defeat Pokémon that they are very disadvantaged against. It's a combination of the superior human brain and the power of a Pokémon. But that combination now exists inside of you. You have a brain that's as intelligent as a human's now. You need to use it. Don't fight based on animal instinct alone. The reason that Pokémon raised by trainers are always more powerful than wild Pokémon is because they win more battles and that is because they fight smart. You need to fight smart._"

"_Huh I never thought of it like that_" Growlithe replied. "_But then again I have been an animal my whole life_"

"_Well now you're something more_" Lucario said. "_Never forget that. You're a Guardian of Aura now. But also don't forget that you still aren't a human. You are unique; not human but as intelligent as one. You must think like a human and like a Pokémon at the same time._"

"_That sure doesn't sound simple or easy_" Growlithe observed.

"_It's not_" Lucario agreed. "_That's why we train. Training is nothing more than doing something wrong over and over again until you finally figure out how to do it right. Be patient with yourself you'll get it eventually._" Growlithe nodded in acknowledgement. "_And don't worry there's no rush. We have plenty of time._"

Meanwhile Misty stood in her old home, the Cerulean City Pokémon Gym. Her oldest sister Daisy was standing in front of her. Whenever she was with one of her sisters Misty couldn't help but marvel at how horrible the years had been to them, but she figured that fate was inevitable to anyone with their carefree, party-girl lifestyles. After all that type of relentless self-indulgence would wear on anyone eventually. Their efforts to conceal this wear only made it worse. So Daisy stood before Misty with hair that had been treated with so much blonde dye that it did not resemble human hair, a face that had been paralyzed with Botox injections and painted with so much make-up that Misty wondered if a single inch of her actual skin was visible. Her clothes were a true testament to her attempt to cling to as much of her youthful beauty as possible; they were much too revealing and modern to be becoming of someone of her age. She was a rather poor specimen of a middle-age woman. Misty had always been jealous of the fact that her older sisters were more attractive than her. Now she had no trouble pegging herself as easily the most beautiful of her siblings. After all she only needed to be completely average-looking to surpass them at this point.

"So Ash's mother died" Daisy said after Misty finished explaining. "That's too bad. Poor little bro." Misty's siblings had gotten into the habit of addressing their brother-in-law as 'little bro' on occasion since Ash and Misty's marriage. "When's the funeral?"

"We don't know yet" Misty answered. "After all, we have a lot of other things to deal with right now. We haven't even started planning it yet."

Daisy simply tilted her head in acknowledgement. "How are the kids holding up?"

Misty was surprised her sister had the presence of mind to even consider the various people affected by this death. "They're doing ok. They were very shocked when it happened but right now they're more worried about their father than anything. Well Kenny pretends he isn't, he throws himself fully into taking care of his little sister so that makes it easy for him to not think about it. Sue's really frightened though, after all she's too young to have to deal with any of this."

"Right" Daisy replied, with a slight tone of accusation. Finally she said what she had been thinking since her younger sister had showed up. "Misty how could you not tell us that Ash is a Guardian of Aura? When we saw him and Pikachu fight Rayquaza on the news we flipped out. How could you hide that from your family?"

Misty was incredibly offended. "Excuse me? You knew all along that an evil Guardian of Aura killed our parents and you never told me _anything _about it! When I was a kid every single time I asked you about our parents you just said you would tell me when I was older and not even just about their deaths, but _anything _about them! What right do you have to expect me to tell you anything?"

Daisy was very defensive. "Misty like come on! We wanted to tell you but you would have like totally not believed us."

Misty grunted in annoyance. "Daisy will you drop the 'likes' and the 'totally's' already? You're 47 years old for God's sake!"

Daisy gasped in unspeakable horror. "Misty! You know you are forbidden from ever speaking that number!"

Misty put her hands on her hips. "I'm 40 and I don't have a problem with it."

Daisy sighed in annoyance. "Right I forgot, you're the superior one. You're the hard worker, the good Gym Leader, the one who is aging gracefully, the one who's only gotten married once so far and hasn't even gotten divorced yet."

"Yet?" Misty repeated. "Ash and I have been married for 15 years. We have three kids. You're still betting that it isn't going to last?"

Daisy sounded as if the answer was obvious. "Oh come on Misty does it honestly sounds realistic that _you _could hold onto a man for longer than that? I'm surprised it lasted half this long."

In her childhood this remark would have sent Misty through the roof. However this time she simply smiled and asked, "How's Mike by the way?"

Daisy's expression turned sour. "That so isn't funny Misty."

Misty said with mischievous reminiscence, "It isn't funny that while you were drunk in Las Vegas you married a guy you met at the blackjack table after only knowing him for an hour and then after you were married for a week he left you for Lily and then it turned out that he had been having an affair with Violet the entire time? I think that's very funny."

"Stop talking about that!" Daisy shouted. Her voice became more high-pitched than a dolphin's.

Kenny and Sue were sitting at the other side of the gym at the edge of the giant pool that housed much of the Water Pokémon. They were watching Feebas, who now had her wound stitched up with a fresh, water-proof bandage to cover it, swimming slowly across the water. Nurse Joy said she would be fully-healed in about a week. That was a relatively slow recovery time for a Pokémon but Feebas was at a really low level. Blitzle was lying by the pool, bobbing his nose in and out of the water.

"Huh mom and her sisters still fight just like little kids" Kenny calmly observed as his mother and his aunt continued arguing. They were too far away to be clearly heard. "I wonder if siblings ever outgrow that."

Sue was sitting at the direct edge of the pool, lightly kicking the water with her feet and watching Feebas swim. "Well that depends" she said with a bit less shyness than normal. "With us it depends on if you ever stop being such a reckless, stubborn idiot." Her voice sounded as kind and quiet as it always did and yet she spoke with complete frankness.

Complete astonishment registered on Kenny's face. Blitzle looked at him and laughed with many happy neighs. Kenny smiled and joined him. "Since when do you call people idiots?"

"Oh I think it a lot more than I say" she said calmly. "For some reason when I look at Feebas I'm not afraid to say it."

"Is that right?" Kenny chuckled. "Do you think that about me a lot?"

"Not always" she said. "But when you do things like trying to fight three Sharpedo by yourself the word 'idiot' does pop into my head a lot."

"Well I guess that's gratitude for you" Kenny said with another laugh.

"Oh don't worry I was very grateful" Sue answered in the same tone of voice. "I was also worried. Please be more careful next time." She looked at his injured arm. He had been given stiches too and would have to wear his bandage for about ten days. Luckily his wound wouldn't scar or impair his arm's function at all.

Kenny sounded as if he considered the sentence ridiculous. "Careful? Come on I was protecting you. I'm your big brother; it's my job to be ready to die for you if you need it."

Sue had been expecting this response. She stayed calm but her voice was more serious than before. She sounded more assertive than Kenny had ever heard her be. "I don't want you to die. Be more careful." It clearly wasn't optional.

Kenny was incredibly surprised by her directness and her insistence. He felt almost like he was being lectured at by his mother. He looked over at Feebas.

_Ever since she protected that fish she's…different. Not only is she not as scared but she seems…stronger somehow. She's never told me what to do before. I guess…_

He remembered the moment when blood spat out of his arm. Upon reflection, he realized it must have been very scary for a little girl to see.

_…I never realized how much it scared her to see me in danger._

"So that's the other half a man's duty huh?" he said with resignation. "Not only protecting, but also not making the people we're protecting sad by dying."

Sue nodded with a proud smile. "Yes. It is."

This was nothing more than another challenge for Kenny, which he reveled in. It would only prove how much of a man he was if he managed to perform both these tasks. "All right Sue. I promise that I will always protect you _and_ that I won't die or get hurt too badly so that I won't make you sad."

Sue smiled. "Perfect."

Meanwhile Misty and Daisy had continued shouting at each other for several minutes.

"Ok enough!" Daisy shouted. "Let's just drop the marriage thing. Misty I'm sorry we never told you about our parents but what were we supposed to do? If we told you the truth you would have never believed us. We didn't want you to think you big sisters were liars."

"How was this any better?!" Misty retorted. "Instead of _thinking_ my big sisters were lying to me about how our parents died I _knew_ nothing about my parents my whole life. I mean at the very least you could have told me what they were like but you never spoke about them even that much!"

"Do you think it was easy for us?" Daisy asked defensively. "They were our parents. Do you think it was easy for us to think about them, to remember them dying?! Do you think it was easy for us getting called down to the police station being asked to identify their bodies and then seeing what was left of them after they were hacked apart by that evil bastard's sword?!" She clasped her head in her hands and tears started flowing down her face.

Misty was shocked by the outburst but did not relent. "Sorry but it's a little hard to feel bad for you. You miss them? You were bothered by their deaths? I wish I knew what that was like. When they died I was barely more than a newborn. I didn't remember their faces, voices, or anything. If it wasn't for memories of them stored in Time Flowers I would have no idea what they were like. I can't even feel like an orphan because I don't even know what it was like to lose them. It was like I never had parents like I just came out of nowhere. You may have had to deal with them dying but at least you knew what it felt like to have a mother and a father."

Daisy looked like she had been struck in the heart. "Wow Misty…I didn't know you felt this way."

"Of course you didn't" said Misty. "Everything is always about you. My feelings never matter. It's not important how much I wanted to know about my parents or for that matter how much I wanted to keep traveling with Ash and Brock. What is important is that you didn't want to deal with your grief or the responsibility of running this gym so you decided to make that my problem."

Daisy looked extremely surprised. "That's really how you felt?"

Misty felt like she was being asked to explain what two plus two was. "Of course it was! I loved traveling with Ash and Brock and you three just decided that I had to come home and be the gym leader even though I was just a kid and it was your damn job!"

"Misty I had no idea" Daisy said. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I did!" Misty shouted. "You just brushed me off! Eventually I stopped trying because I knew you weren't ever going to listen! There was nothing else I could do because I couldn't leave this place without a leader or for that matter with irresponsible ones like you! The trainers who come by here to earn their Cascade Badge deserve better than what you'll give them. That's why even though I'm married and have kids now whenever you call and tell me there are challengers here I drop whatever I'm doing to come and take care of it." She turned around and folded her arms. "Ash was right it would have been easier if we just lived here. It definitely would have been simpler than getting the money together to buy a house in Pallet Town when we got married. I was sick and tired of feeling like I was trapped in this gym though. I love the Water Pokémon and even being the gym leader but I hated feeling like this place was a prison. I hated feeling like I was forced to be here. Whenever I'm in my house in Pallet Town with my family I finally feel free. And whenever I go to the Pallet Town Gym I feel happy to help."

When Ash had finished traveling the world's regions and competing in the various Pokémon Leagues he settled back in Pallet Town but he quickly grew bored of the lack of Pokémon battles. He felt that he had traveled to his heart's content however so instead of going on another journey he founded Pallet Town's first ever Pokémon Gym and made himself its leader. He had no trouble getting the Pokémon League to register him given his impressive reputation as a Pokémon trainer and all of the championships he had competed in. It was the perfect compromise; he was able to call a single place home again, which certainly made marriage and children easier, and fantastic Pokémon trainers would seek him out. His was also one of the most prestigious gyms. One reason was that he often switched around which of his many dear Pokémon he battled with so his battle style was less predictable than other gyms. Another reason was that he had the lowest defeat record of any gym leader; after all he had been good enough to defeat all of the other gym leaders. This was how he made a living and he thought no profession could be more suited to him.

Daisy looked genuinely guilty. "Misty I'm so sorry. I didn't know…I…"

"Of course you didn't" said Misty. "It didn't affect you after all in fact you benefited from it. Thank God none of you ever had any kids. I know how bad you would've been at raising them."

Daisy seemed genuinely hurt by this comment. This time she didn't fight back though. She bowed her head and cried a little. "Misty…" Misty turned around, somewhat intrigues by the gentleness in her voice. "…Our father…" It was easy to hear her fighting back deep pain. "…Our father…was a lot like Ash. He…" Her lip quivered as she fought back sobs. "…was a brave and confident Pokémon trainer. He was the …the best leader this gym ever had. Your Gyarados…the only Pokémon in this gym that was the least bit strong before you showed up…was his first Pokémon. When he took in that little Magikarp people laughed at him and said he would be pathetically weak but it evolved into the strongest Water Pokémon in the Kanto region. He…he…he never…" It was apparent she wouldn't have the strength to keep going for much longer.

"He never gave up, ever. When people told him that training his Magikarp was pointless he took that as a challenge. It only motivated him more" another voice suddenly finished. Misty turned around and saw her other two sisters, Lily and Violet standing in the doorway. She recognized the voice that had finished the sentence as Lily's.

"How long have you two been standing there?" Misty asked.

"A few minutes" Violet answered. "We were going to say hi but then…we started hearing Daisy talk about dad."

"It's been so long since any of us have said anything about him that…it feels good hearing about him again" said Lily.

Daisy wiped some of the tears from her face. "I'm so glad you named your son after him Misty. He looks just like him. Acts just like him too."

Misty smiled and nodded. "Kenshin, a name that means 'heart of sword', a warrior's name; it's perfect for someone with Kenny's confidence."

"Dad usually had people call him Ken" said Lily. "Not that he didn't like the full thing but he thought it sounded too formal. Kenny is a pretty good nickname for it too, especially for a kid."

"Come to think of it" said Violet. "Kenny's exactly like him. Looks just like him and acts just like him.

Misty smiled. She felt as though she had connected herself to her father through her son without even trying to. She had of course named Kenny after her father after she had learned his name but at that point she had known almost nothing else about him other than what he looked like.

"What was mom like?" she asked.

"Like us" said Daisy. Apparently she was starting to have an easier time remembering. "Well the three of us" she added, gesturing to herself, Lily and Violet. "You're a bit more like dad than her. I guess that's why we always made fun of you for being a tomboy."

Misty placed her hands on her hips and let out a 'hmph'. Though the idea of being like the father they described sounded flattering, especially if they're mother was responsible for her sister's shallowness.

Violet explained, "She was probably the most beautiful woman in the world. She was a model like us. She basically lived our exact lives; the fashion, the parties, the boys trailing after her."

Lily interrupted her with a laugh. "Then she met dad." Misty's curiosity must have registered on her face because Lily continued. "He was the only one never impressed by her looks or money or fame. It's almost like he didn't notice them. After all he was a single-minded Pokémon trainer. He was so devoted he didn't really have any brain power leftover for things like girls."

Misty chuckled loudly. "He _does _sound like Ash!"

Daisy laughed too. She had completely stopped crying. "He was. One day he was chasing after a Caterpie that had wondered into mom's photo-shoot. He accidentally destroyed the entire set and the Caterpie still got away. Mom went through the roof! She knocked him over the head with a light stand like ten times. Of course all he was thinking about was catching that Caterpie. That just made her madder. Then she completely lost it when she found out he didn't even know who she was and went completely insane when he wasn't impressed after she told him."

Lily couldn't stop giggling. "She basically ended up following him around trying to get him to apologize for destroying the set and pretty much to get him to admit he was as charmed by her as any other guy. She wasn't very successful thought. When he saw how shallow she was he didn't feel that bad about destroying her set. So she wouldn't leave him alone until he admitted he thought she was beautiful, and he of course wouldn't out of spite. She basically ended up following him on his Pokémon journey before either of them knew what was happening."

Misty opened her mouth in a wide grin. "That's just like me when Ash destroyed my bike!"

Daisy said, "Believe me all of us noticed the similarity when you told us about it. We knew that was just your excuse for following him around. And just like you with Ash mom fell in love with dad before she even realized why she was really following him. She admired his determined spirit and how much he cared for his Pokémon. He was the first guy who she was ever attracted to for reasons other than money or abs."

Misty liked listening to this story. "So dad fell in love with her too?"

Her sisters all looked at each other knowingly. "Not at first. He hated her. He wondered why she kept following him around and wished she would stop."

Misty bowed her head with embarrassment. "It's really starting to sound like Ash and me."

Daisy brushed her off. "Nah when we first met Ash it was pretty clear the both of you liked each other. But mom was pretty shy just like you when it came to her feelings for dad. She had never met a guy she couldn't get to like her with nothing other than her looks. She knew he didn't like her shallowness so she was too afraid to tell him how she felt."

"Then how'd they end up together?" Misty asked.

Violet chose to answer. "Well it took a long time. Dad was too dense when it came to love to realize how mom felt about him and there was a lot about her he didn't like. But when they started traveling together she…well she changed. One of the reasons she fell for him was that she admired how kind he was to not only his Pokémon but also to everyone. He never hesitated to put himself in danger to help others, like Ash. She eventually realized she admired him more than she admired herself."

Lily added, "And for most of her life there was _no one_ she admired more than herself!"

Violet laughed and continued. "So she wanted to be more like him. So when his Pokémon got hurt she would help take care of them. He could never figure out how to use potions or bandages very effectively but she had a talent for healing. When she found that out it made her feel pretty good; she thought her only gift was her looks. When she started doing that it made it easier for dad to put up with her. He even started warming up to her a little bit. Then one day when he was trying to save a Charmander from falling into a river he broke his arm. Mom took care of him. She bandaged his arm and watched over him while he healed. When he saw how kind and nurturing she really was…well…"

"The rest is history" Daisy finished. "They went to the Indigo Plateau hand in hand. Dad won the Pokémon League but he never ended up defeating the Elite Four. When they got married they opened up this place together. They both always loved Water Pokémon. Dad was the Gym Leader and mom put on shows like us. She loved performing. We learned everything we know about being mermaids from her."

Lily added, "Dad always joked how he loved having three daughters but he wished he had at least one son too. You know one who would be interested in battling. He loved our performances but he always worried about what would happen to the gym part of this place when he was gone."

Misty laughed. "Well given the way you three ran this place I'd say his fear was justified."

Violet was quick with a comeback. "Well lucky for him you turned out to be the son he never had."

Kenny could hear his mother's objections to that statement quite clearly despite how far away he and his sister were. "Our aunts are crazy" he observed calmly. Sue nodded in quiet agreement.

Misty's eye suddenly caught the clock. She had stayed much longer than she had planned to. She had more errands to see to that day. "Wow I got to go!"

"Why?" Daisy asked.

"Well normally I would've just called you on the phone to tell you about Ash's mom. But I was already on my way to Pewter City. I need to get there soon."

"Pewter City?" Why would you need to go there at a time like this?" Daisy asked.

Misty was surprised by her curiosity. She hadn't expected to need to explain her story to them. She thought she would simply deliver the news of Delia's death and leave. She wasn't used to her sisters taking this much of an interest.

She didn't mind it though. She explained, "Last time all of this Guardian of Aura stuff happened, the last time Ash and Pikachu were in charge of saving the world they were on their own. I remember watching them fight Tanaka by themselves and feeling so helpless. Someone I loved was dying to protect me and everyone else he cared about and there was nothing I could do to help him. When I watched Rayquaza defeat him on the news I felt exactly the same way again, well no it was worse because I was thinking of how to explain to our children that their daddy wasn't coming home. I can't just sit back and do nothing this time!"

The faces of her sisters seemed to register the depth of her concern. Daisy sounded as if she was trying to be understanding when she asked, "But how are you planning to help? I mean Ash is a Guardian of Aura and he couldn't beat Rayquaza even with Pikachu's help."

Misty defensively asked, "Are you trying to talk me out of protecting my husband?"

Daisy shook her head and sounded as if she wanted to make sure Misty knew that was the last thing on her mind. "No! No that's not what I meant! It's just…please don't do anything dangerous…" Misty was surprised when she saw how worried her sisters' faces looked.

Misty definitely was not used to seeing her sisters show this much concern for her. It was surprising but felt warming. She smiled and said, "Don't worry I won't. You see my plan is simple. You're right Rayquaza had to be really strong if Ash couldn't beat him. No one is strong enough to beat Rayquaza by themselves if he isn't. That means the only way to beat him is to work together. Ash has made hundreds of friends that would be willing to risk their lives for him at the drop of a hat during his travels. Like you said, he's always been like dad, even before he was a Guardian of Aura he would always protect innocent people and Pokémon. Gary is already recruiting some of the strongest Pokémon trainers in the world to fight Rayquaza but even they might not be enough. To beat Rayquaza we need as many trainers fighting him at the same time as possible. If we overwhelm him with superior numbers we might be able to win. I'm going to rally as many of Ash's friends together as possible starting with Brock, the only one whose been his friend as long as me or Gary. We're going to save him no matter what it takes."

Lily folded her arms with a smile. "Wow Misty I got to say what you lack in looks you make up for in brains…well almost."

Misty let out weary sigh. "Kids it's time to go! I've run out of the patience to put up with your aunts!" she called.

Her sisters all laughed together. "That's our runt" said Daisy. "Good luck finding Ash's friends."

Misty decided it was better to try and end the conversation on a good note. "Well…thanks for finally telling me about mom and dad. I'm still mad it took you so long but it's better than never. "

"You're welcome" said Daisy. "I'm sorry it took so long. It's been such a long time since we could think about them without crying that we just kind of all ended up never talking about them. It actually felt good today though remembering them. So actually we should be thanking you."

_Huh it's funny. Years ago I think Houndour wanted me to have this exact conversation with my sisters. I should've listened to him._ Misty thought to herself. She remembered how much of a problem Houndour had with the way her sisters treated her and only held his tongue out of respect for boundaries. He was always very understanding to her problems and feelings though; an excellent confident. _Oh I miss you Houndour. I wish you could've lived to see this. You were one of my best friends._ He may have been the partner to Ash's grandfather but Houndour still spent as much time at the Cerulean Gym with Misty as possible.

Kenny and Sue walked over to Misty. Blitzle was walking next to Kenny and Sue had recalled Feebas to her Pokéball. "Say goodbye to you aunts kids."

"Bye Aunt Daisy, bye Aunt Lily bye Aunt Violet" Kenny said obediently but not too enthusiastically.

"Bye cutey!" his aunts said at the same time. They pinched his cheeks affectionately. This was part of the reason why Kenny hated visiting his aunts. The only thing he ever liked about it was seeing the Water Pokémon. He cringed with embarrassment as he was forced to put up with it.

"You're getting so handsome!" Lily praised.

"You're turning into quite the little man!" added Violet.

"You're getting to be more and more like your grandpa every day!" said Daisy before she realized she had said it.

The last comment was the only that sounded the slightest bit significant to Kenny. "I am?" he asked suddenly. All three of his aunts pulled away when they realized the impact of what Daisy had said. "I didn't know that." He looked at Misty. "You never told me I was like your dad. In fact you never mention him. I mean dad talks about his dad all the time but…you never talk about your parents."

The simple reason behind that was that Misty had almost nothing to tell about her parents before. She did always feel jealous when the kids were being told stories about their other set of grandparents when she had none of her own. Ash knew that and always tried to avoid flaunting his stories in her face.

Misty could have easily blamed her sisters for this; it would be the truth after all but for some reason she didn't feel that mad anymore. "Oh I guess it just slipped my mind."

Daisy seemed visibly glad that Misty didn't blame them. She took it as an opportunity. "You know…" she said shyly. "…We have some pictures of them…photo albums…and a few things that belonged to them…" She started pressing together her index fingers nervously as Misty caught her meaning. "If you want…we could show them to you...there's a lot of great stories behind them…" She looked up and met Misty's eyes. "After all…the kids should know about their grandparents…right Misty?" she added with a nervous laugh.

Misty smiled as she realized Daisy was also using this as a chance to show her these relics of her parents. "I suppose they should. What do you think kids, would you like to do that?"

Kenny was obviously reluctant. He never looked forward to visiting his aunts. "Well…"

Daisy knelt down and addressed Kenny with a smile. "You're grandpa was a great Pokémon trainer you know, just like your dad."

Kenny's interest was clearly peaked by this. "He was? I thought dad always said grandpa was a terrible trainer."

Misty corrected, "His dad was. Ours wasn't."

Daisy nodded, "Yep your Grandpa Ken was the best Water Pokémon trainer there ever was. He was the leader of this gym for years. I'll tell you something when he was leader this place was known for its low number of losses."

"Really?" Kenny asked. "Wow I guess I come from a lot of great gym leaders."

Daisy nodded with a proud smile. "Yeah your mom was the only one of the four of us who inherited our dad's skills."

That comment really got to Misty. She barely stopped herself from gasping in shock. Her eyes met Daisy's. Her face was filled with more love than she had ever seen. Misty felt tears forming in her eyes.

"Sure!" Kenny declared. "If I'm going to be a good trainer like my parents and grandpa I need to know as much about them as possible!"

Daisy nodded happily. "We'll have to do that soon."

"Sure Aunt Daisy" Kenny said with much more patience than he usually had. He then tolerated his aunts kissing his cheeks without complaint for the first time in his life.

Misty chuckled and wiped away a small stream of tears. _Who'd have thought my side of the family would ever be like this?_ She mused.

Lily was kneeling down in front of Sue and began staring at her with a lot of focus, as if she was pondering the deep meaning of a work of art. Sue looked visibly uncomfortable.

"What are you doing Lily?" Misty asked.

Lily waited a few moments to respond. She turned her head slightly as if to confirm a suspicion. "You _still_ haven't gotten Sue's ears pierced Misty?"

"What?!" Misty blurted. "She's 7!"

"Exactly!" Lily insisted. "It looks like she hasn't even started wearing makeup yet either! What are you waiting for?!"

"What the…" Misty said, censoring herself. "What deadline am I trying to meet?!"

Lily stood up and wagged her finger. "Well boys are gonna start looking her way soon. You don't want her to get a reputation as a prude right off the bat."

And with that Misty's patience had run out. "Ok we are leaving! Come on kids!" She grabbed her children's hands and lead them out the door.

"Mommy, what's a prude?" Sue asked innocently.

"Never mind sweety" Misty answered. "Your aunts are crazy."


End file.
